The Fairies of the Ring
by So-Pro Warrior
Summary: Fairy Tail has regained the title of Number One Guild in Fiore and Team Natsu is ready for more adventures! However, when a strange request sends them to a new world, the mages find themselves become involved in a war against an evil Dark Lord and his armies. Now, they must go on a quest with new friends to destroy the source of his powers to save their world before it is too late.
1. The Strange Request, a New World

_**(Insert Lord of the Rings: One Ring to Rule them All theme)**_

Nothing, nothing but darkness is seen as then a female voice begins to speak.

" _I amar prestar aen…The world is changed. Ihan mathon ne nen…I feel it in the water. Han mathon ne. chae…I feel it in the Earth. A han noston ned gwilith. I smell it in the air...Much that once was is lost. For none now live who remember it…"_

A fire pit slowly appears, a metal prong pulls out a hot cup of melted metal from the fire and pours it into a mold for casting. _"It began with the forging of the great rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else, desire power."_ The three Elf rings are seen on their owners hands as they look at them, admiring their beauty. Elsewhere, seven rings are spread out in a circle on a table as the seven Dwarf Lords pick them up, looking at them before raising them above their heads. And finally at another location, nine Kings of men lower their rings, holding them in front of themselves.

" _For within these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race... But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made."_ A map of Middle-Earth is seen, before the scene fades out for a bit and then re-appears zooming in on the location of the map marked as _**Mordor**_.

" _In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring, to control all others. And into this Ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life."_ In Mordor, the volcanic mountain known as Mount Doom, spits out lava, fire, and smoke from the top. Inside, was the Dark Lord Sauron, a massive nine-foot-tall being clad in malicious looking armor as he rose his right hand up in front of him, on it was his Golden Ring as then flaming elvish letters appeared around it, translating into _"One Ring to rule them all."_

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: One Ring to Rule them All theme)**_

" _One by one, the free lands of Middle-Earth fell to the power of the Ring."_ The map of Middle-Earth is seen again, what looks like fire comes from Mordor as then a scene is shown over the map, showing the burning down of a village as its townspeople run away, crying out in terror while what look like wildmen raise their weapons into the air cheering at the burning down of the village.

 _ **(Insert The Nazgul's March Theme)**_

" _But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the slopes of Mount Doom they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth."_ A massive army of Men and Elven warriors march forward together, Sauron's army of creatures known as Orcs also charge forward as both sides stop a bit of a distance away from each other ready for the battle at hand. Many Orcs are seen growling at the men and elves, just then a line of Human archers release their volley of arrows and duck down, allowing the line behind them to release their arrows as well. High on the nearby cliffs, the orc archers are also firing down at the Men and Elves but find themselves getting massacred as many orcs fall off the clicks to the ground below, the orc army charges forward to engage the two armies.

The elves raise their weapons forward, among them is a Elven lieutenant known as Elrond, an elf with long dark hair as he yells out a command in his elven language, the command makes the rows of elven warriors behind him raise their bows and pull back on their arrows as they take aim at the charging orcs. Elrond says something else which makes the archers release their arrows, striking down many of the orcs at the front of their army as the orcs then finally close in on the elven warriors, the ones at the front swing up their swords upwards taking down the first orcs that come into contact with them.

Everything breaks out as the armies are now mixed together, men and elves fighting against the orcs and slaying many of them. Elrond is seen striking down another orc before than driving his sword into it once more to make sure it stays down, one of the human warriors, this one almost looking like a king due to his royal-looking armor, raises his sword into the air and cries out.

" _Victory was near. But the power of the Ring could not be undone."_ As Elrond strikes down another orc, he stops suddenly and stares at something in shock, another human soldier also looking like he was of royalty with his armor, also sees what Elrond is and stops fighting as he stares at whatever it was in shock. It is then seen that it is Sauron, wielding a very long mace in his hands, walking through the battlefield, causing all of the men and elven warriors in front of him to converge towards him. All of them stop a few feet away as Sauron walks forward and then stops, the human and elf warriors looking up at him with terror in their eyes and even backing up a bit.

Sauron begins his attack. First swinging his mace downwards taking many human and elves out, as he brings back his mace and swings it outwards sending many soldiers flying away. Sauron does the attack two more times, each time sending groups of soldiers flying away like they were nothing but flies to him. The human king charges forward in an attempt to put a stop to this, but he to is struck by Sauron and sent crashing against a rock, killing him due to the massive force at which he was sent flying into it.

 _ **(End The Nazgul's March Theme)**_

The young human prince known as Isildur rushes over to his father, but finds no life in him. _"It was in this moment when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the King, took up his father's sword."_

Isildur takes his helmet off and cries for his father, when suddenly Sauron appears before him and in a fit of anger goes for his father's sword. Sauron however steps on it, breaking the sword as only a small part of it remains, part of it still sharp though. Sauron begins to reach down for Isildur, who backed up against the rock, cries out as he swings the remainder of the sword, actually managing to cut Sauron's fingers off him, the ring among them as they fall to the ground with Sauron letting out a cry of pain. The finger that has the One Ring on it falls close to Isildur who spots it, before he can move he notices a bright light begin to appear from within Sauron's armor. The wind picks up, blowing flags, and hair of helmetless soldiers around but also seems to be drawing the soldiers in towards Sauron who all of a sudden implodes. Sending out a massive shockwave which knocks everyone for miles around, down to the ground. Pieces of Sauron's armor fall to the ground, and finally Sauron's helmet itself.

" _Sauron, the enemy of the free-peoples of Middle-Earth was defeated…"_ Isildur finally grabbed the finger that had the One Ring on it and looked at it, the finger breaking apart into pieces and ash leaving only the ring in his hand now. _"The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever."_

The scene switches to a dark, eerie forest as Isildur along with his men ride their horses in a column through it down a road. _"But the hearts of men...are easily corrupted."_ The ring was now on a chain around Isildur's neck. _"And the Ring of Power has a will of its own."_ Suddenly from the forest orcs appear and ambush the soldiers, one of them leaps forward towards Isildur and tackles him off his horse, the rest of the men find themselves swarmed from all sides by orcs as they attempt to fight back. Isildur looks around, and sees his men getting massacred as he pulls the chain off his neck and places the ring onto his finger, causing him to disappear. Dead bushes are pushed aside, metal armor is heard clanking around as then something or someone falls into the nearby river. All of a sudden Isildur reappears again, the ring having of fallen off his finger as he notices it and attempts to reach for it, but is too late as three orc archers spot him and release their arrows which go into his back, causing Isildur to let out his last breath before finally dying. _"It betrayed Isildur to his death."_ Isildur's body floats up from the water, blood going down his entire back with three arrows protruding from his upper back as his lifeless body floats down the river.

" _And some things that should not have been forgotten, were lost."_ The Ring is last seen falling to the bottom of the river and disappearing. _"History became legend, legend became myth and for two and a half thousand years, the Ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer."_ at the bottom of the river, the ring is seen sticking out of the sandy bottom, when a hand reaches out and picks it up. Very dirty-looking hands open up, revealing the One Ring on the palm of someone, or something as the thing speaks "My, precious~."

Dark clouds hover over the green mountains with fog rolling down between them _"The Ring, came to the creature Gollum...who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there, it consumed him."_ Inside the mountain, deep in a dark cave, skeletal remains of eaten, rotten fish are seen next to a pool as close by was the creature known as Gollum, hunchbacked over, but the rest of his features unclear due to the shadows of the darkness as he speaks, his voice echoing throughout the cave "It came to me. My own. My love. My own. My~, pr~ecious~." Gollum says when he then raises his head and gags out "Gollum!" as if he heard something but gets back to looking at his ring.

" _The Ring brought to Gollum unnatural long life. For 500 years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East...whispers of a nameless fear. And the Ring of Power perceived...its time, hand now come."_ A full moon shines in the dark night sky, showing a dark forest with no movement in it, except for the light blowing of a few trees and bushes, rippling's in the pond. The scene then switched to the next day, a rising sun. Suddenly in the cave, the Ring began falling down, bouncing off of the rocks _"It abandoned Gollum."_

" _But something happened then, the Ring did not intend. It was picked up, by the most unlikely creature imaginable."_ The ring lay in a pile of dirt, when a hand came over it and a voice quietly spoke out "What's this?"

" _A Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins of the Shire."_ the young Hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins picks up the ring and looks at it, intrigued by it "A ring." Bilbo says, releasing a low sighing chuckle when Gollum's voice cried and echoed throughout the cave alerting him. "Lost! My precious is lo~st!" Gollum cried out as Bilbo quietly stood back up, getting against the wall as he put the ring into the pocket of his coat and tapped it to make sure it was in there. _"For the time will soon come...when Hobbits, will shape the fortunes of all. But also, when that time came. The Hobbits and their friends that would shape the future of Middle-Earth, would be aided by people, not of this world."_

 _Present Day…_

 _The Third Age…_

 _Lothlorien…_

A elven lady, with long blonde hair, two forward bangs and one long one in the back that are curling a bit as they go down, wearing a long white dress stares down into a silver basin of water, and appears to be speaking to herself. "For the destruction of the Ring to succeed, we must call upon the aid of others not of this world, with the power to help us. For if we do not. Then this whole world, will fall into darkness." the elven lady says, as she stares into the rippling water a strange symbol begins to materialize in it. After a few seconds the symbol finally appears, revealing what appears to be an orange/light red color, side view of a Fairy, with a tail.

* * *

 _ **(Insert Fairy Tail Theme 2014)**_

The first title fades into view…

 _ **Fairy Tail**_

...before going forward and disappearing.

The second title appears behind it and closes in a bit before stopping...

 _ **Lord of the Rings**_

The title goes forward and disappears as well...

Fire erupts in the center as the main title appears from it…

 _ **The Fairies of the Ring**_

Fire continues to burn beneath the title screen before the scene fades to black...

* * *

" _The Kingdom of Fiore…A neutral country of 17 million people. It is a world of magic. Magic is bought and sold there every day. It is an integral part of people's lives. And there are those who use magic as their occupation. These people are referred to as…Wizards. The Wizards belong to various guilds, and perform jobs on commission. There are a large number of guilds within the country. And in a certain city there lies a certain guild. A guild from which various legends were once born…Or rather, will continue to be born long into the future…And its name is: Fairy Tail!"_

 _Magnolia, Fiore…_

 _X791…_

A door is busted open as a lean, muscular young man of average height with a slightly tan skin tone with strange pink-colored spiky hair is sent flying through it, crying out before hitting the concrete face first and skidding across the ground to a stop. The rest of his body falls to the ground as the young man begins to pick himself up and turns around to sit back down revealing his black eyes, he wears a gold trimmed, black overcoat that is open-collared and only has one sleeve that covers his left arm leaving his right arm exposed, a faux leather brown armband around the sleeve at the top of his arm, and a thick black wristband around his right hand wrist. A leather brown belt with an oval-shaped silver buckle around his waist, white knee-length trousers with black ribbon ties, black open-toed sandals for footwear, and finally a scale-patterned white scarf, the strange symbol from before was below his right shoulder colored red as it appeared to be a stamp mark.

"Sheesh Lucy, that hurt! More than usual, you've been working out?" the young man asked with a toothy-grin while crossing his arms, almost like he didn't care what just happened.

"Shut it Natsu!" a young woman with large brown eyes and blonde hair tied into pigtails yells in an annoyed tone as she appears outside the door. She wears a rather revealing small white, gold trimmed, with a big blue heart in the middle shirt, the shirt leaves her stomach revealed and shows off her rather ample-sized chest, she wears an accompanying very small blue and gold trimmed sleeveless coat, detached blue sleeves up to her elbows with gold ribbons at the top and white trimmed edges around her wrists, a black skirt with a white belt where a small leather holder with what looks like a ring of gold and silver keys on it in the holder hangs from her right hip, and a black whip with a heart-shaped end on her left hip, finally long black stockings and brown leather high boots. The symbol was on the back of her right hand and was pink. "I don't know what's gotten into you but ever since we got back from the Grand Magic Games you've been breaking into my place a lot more and sleeping in MY bed while I'm in it! Do you realize how weird that is?" the woman identified as Lucy questions in anger.

"Hey, you can't blame me that your bed's just more comfortable than mine. It's hard to resist." Natsu says closing his eyes with a grin on his face.

Lucy lets out an annoyed sigh as she lowers her head and closes her eyes, she should be used to this by now but it was still such an annoying thing to deal with on such a daily basis, especially recently. "Whatever, come on. Let's just get to the guild already." Lucy says as she, Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial Spirit mage and a member of the wizard guild known as Fairy Tail, and her best friend and partner Natsu Dragneel, the boy taught magic known as Fire Dragon Slayer magic by his dragon father Igneel who had disappeared on him many years ago, began to make their way towards their guild hall where the rest of their friends and comrades were.

It had been at least a month since the events that transpired at the Grand Magic Games, the dragons that came from the past were back where they were, and Fairy Tail was back at being the number one guild in all of Fiore. Their old guild hall was back, many wizards had joined the guild, and a lot of job requests were flooding in making the wizards always busy to earn some jewels. "Hey everyone!" Lucy called out as her and Natsu opened up the doors to their guild, all to find it but completely empty, except for a few people, and three cats...sorry, Exceeds.

"Huh? Where is everyone?" Natsu wondered as he and Lucy walked in. "Morning, Natsu, Lucy." Mirajane Strauss greeted from behind the bar with her usual angelic smile. "Morning Mira. Where is everyone?" Lucy asked.

"Out on jobs. Ever since the Grand Magic games we've been getting a lot of requests as of late. At least it keeps everyone busy, but sometimes it does get a bit too quiet in here." Mirajane says.

"Well, well, about damn time you got here pyro maniac!" a familiar voice called out as Natsu immediately turned around with an angered look on his face.

"Huh? What was that, stripping moron?" Natsu questioned to his friend/rival, Ice-Make mage Gray Fullbuster, who for some reason had a bad habit of stripping out of his clothes, like at this moment as he was half-naked with only his dark blue pants on, luckily…as the two began walking towards each other, ready to begin another one of their daily brawls in the guild.

Lucy sighs "You sure about that…" she says.

The brawl however was almost immediately stopped before it could began as both Natsu and Gray found themselves punched into the floor by the monstrous strength of the scarlet haired and Requip mage Erza Scarlet. "Don't even think about it. We don't have time to deal with your nonsense today, now that you and Lucy are here Natsu, we can go look for a job to do." Erza says, as always wearing her normal Heart Kreuz Armor.

"Aye! Let's look for one with a really high reward." Natsu's Exceed partner, the blue with a white stomach talking cat Happy says. Sitting on a table with his fellow Exceeds Carla, and Panther Lily as Lily has a glass cup of kiwi juice in his hands/paws.

"We probably should, if I remember correctly Lucy's apartment rent is due soon so she probably needs the jewels about now." Carla, the white-furred Exceed partner to the young Wind Dragon Slayer Wendy Marvell says, wearing a pink bow tie on the end of her tail, a pink dress with yellow tie that has a red cat paw mark at the bottom.

"Speaking of jobs, did you find anything for us to do Gajeel?" Panther Lily, or just Lily, the black furred Exceed and partner of Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer asks his partner. Lily wore green pants with a small brown belt wrapped around it, and carried a small red sword known as the Musica Sword on his back sheathed away.

Gajeel Redfox sat at the end of a table close to where the other members of Team Natsu were, Gray had his white coat back on and buttoned up as he took a seat and propped his right hand up on the table leaning against it with a bored expression and his eyes closed "Nope. Not a single interesting job for us to do. Everyone took all the damn good ones this morning." Gajeel says.

As Lucy joined the others at the table, Wendy, her hair up in long pigtails held together by two red animal ear-like attachments, wearing a flowing dress with a triangular pattern near the top, the first triangle from the bottom is yellow, followed by light green, and then light blue at the top, and crossing pattern around the rest of the dress as the rest of it is dark green in color with the black crossing lines. She also wears a thick yellow band around each of her arms and ankle tied sandals on her feet, walked up to the others with a request paper in hand.

"I may have found something, but it's really weird." Wendy says as she places it on the table.

The group look down at the piece of paper, on it was a drawing of what looked like a giant ring, the words _"Help Destroy!"_ under it, but that wasn't the weird part. The paper not only didn't say anything about what the reward would be, nor where this job was located at, but under the normal words, was some strange letters, the likes that had never been seen before.

"Huh?" Natsu says confused as he raises an eyebrow.

"It says, "Help Destroy" and shows a ring. But it doesn't say anything else, no reward, no location given, and then some strange letters." Gray says.

Lucy suddenly shrieks "Please don't tell me this is another Changeling paper!" she cried out reeling back a little, the horrible memories of that certain incident coming back to mind, especially since her mind just had to get swapped with the guy who had stripping issues and nearly exposed her!

"No, I don't think so. But, even then, I've never seen such wording as that before." Erza says.

Interested to see what they're talking about, Gajeel gets up from his seat and walks over, the Exceeds spread their wings and fly over the others to look down at it. "What do you think, Carla?" Wendy asks looking up at her.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like that myself. In fact, I've never heard of any lettering like that." Carla says.

"Tch, the one time we need shrimp here to figure out some kind of weird ass writing and she isn't here." Gajeel says.

" _I'm surprised he didn't go with her."_ Lucy says in her head with a sly smile on her face as she eyes Gajeel from the corner of her eyes.

Suddenly the paper and the strange letters begin to glow brightly in white light, a circle of light surrounds the group of Fairy Tail mages who then find themselves completely frozen in place, unable to move except for their heads.

"W-What the hell?!" Natsu yells out.

"Hey, hey!" Gray yells.

"Eh~! What's going on?!" Happy cries out.

"I can't move!" Lily says.

"Ah~! I knew it! It's changeling all over again!" Lucy yells out.

"No, this isn't. This is different!" Erza says.

"What's going to happen!?" Wendy questions in fear.

"Someone! Help!" Carla yells out, hoping that Mirajane or any of the others in the guild could help them. However, upon looking around, they all gasp in shock at what they see. It seemed everything and everyone else outside the circle of light was also frozen, though unlike them, they didn't seem to even register what was going on or even speak, they were all frozen in place with a focus on whatever it was they were originally doing.

"Why are they frozen as well?!" Gajeel yells.

" _Please."_ a strange female voice suddenly says, the mages hear this and begin looking around.

"Who said that?!" Natsu angrily questioned, wondering if whoever this was, was responsible for what was happening.

" _You, must help us."_

"Help us? Who are you?!" Erza also angrily questions.

" _All, will be revealed in due time. Darkness is coming. And you must help them on their journey…"_

Suddenly the intensity and brightness of the light from the paper begins increasing, blinding everyone as they close their eyes and everything, including them, becomes enveloped by the light.

* * *

" _Natsu! Natsu!"_

Natsu's eyes opened up widely, kneeling over him was Lucy who was looking down at him with a worried expression which immediately disappeared as soon as he opened his eyes, making her let out a sigh of relief "Thank goodness." she says quietly.

Natsu sits up and pushes himself to his feet as Lucy also stands back up. Natsu rubs the back of his head, closing his eyes and groaning due to how groggy he felt. "Lucy, you alright? Where are the others?" Natsu asks as he opens his eyes and looks at her.

Lucy nods her head "Yeah, I'm fine. So are the others." she says looking to her left as Natsu looked forward to see the others also beginning to get up to their feet rubbing the back or top of their heads.

"Is everyone alright?" Erza asks aloud.

"A bit groggy, but doing good." Gray says.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gajeel replies.

"I'm also okay." Wendy replies.

"Aye…" Happy says.

"Confused, but okay." Carla says.

"Same here." Lily says.

Natsu and Lucy began looking around, finding out that they were all in the middle of a forest and it was now night time, but the sky was full of clouds that blocked out the light of the moon and the stars. The wind blew coldly in all directions making the leaves of the trees and brushes all rustle and blow about. "W-Where are we?" Lucy questions with a worried look on her face.

Natsu begins sniffing the air with his nose "I don't recognize anything. There's no familiar smells in the air." he says as then Wendy and Gajeel also begin smelling the air "Natsu-san's right." Wendy says.

"Ain't getting any kind of familiar scent. We're somewhere we've never been before." Gajeel says.

"Did that request transport us to some part of Fiore or something?" Gray asks aloud.

"Somehow, I get this strange feeling we're not in Fiore anymore. Maybe not even Earthland itself." Erza says.

"Was that request some kind of Anima? Are we in Edolas?" Happy says.

"Look around Happy, everything here looks pretty normal." Carla points out.

"She's right. Wherever we are, it's not Edolas." Lily says.

"If we're not on Earthland, or even Edolas, then where are we?" Lucy asks. Natsu sniffs the air again, suddenly his eyes widen in alarm as he turns around and ignites his fists on fire "Show yourself!" Natsu demands alerting everyone.

Gajeel then seems to smell something as well as he transforms both of his arms into Iron Clubs while Wendy also gets ready to use her Dragon Slayer magic, Erza requips a sword into her right hand as Gray puts his hands together ready to cast a spell, and Lucy prepares to take out one of her keys. "Hey, there's no use in hiding from the nose of a Dragon Slayer. So why don't you come out and show yourself already." Natsu says when no one appears.

After a few intense seconds, someone finally does come out from the bushes, a tall, old man who looks to be somewhere between 40-50 years old, with dark shaggy hair wearing almost raggedy-looking clothing, all of which was really dark meaning he could've very well blended into the night if he was able to, from his hooded cloak to his shirt, pants, and boots. A sheathed away sword could be seen hanging on the left side of his hip, as well as a bow and quiver of arrows which was covered to prevent the arrows from falling out on his back. The man walked out with his hands up, trying to show them that he meant no trouble.

"A Dragon Slayer you say? I find it hard to believe that someone as young as you has slayed a dragon. Especially when there hasn't been one in many years." The man says as he stops a few feet away from the Fairy Tail mages. "But I also find myself curious, how you were able to produce flame from your hands, you summon a sword from out of nowhere, and you to transform your arms into those iron clubs. If I had to guess, the rest of you are capable of strange things yourselves, even the strange talking cats I assume."

It was now obvious that the man had been there since they had woken up, probably even having arrived before they did so meaning if he wanted to he could've killed them while they slept but didn't. Still, it was hard to believe that Natsu, Wendy, or Gajeel hadn't been able to pick him up until now with their enhanced senses meaning he must've been good at keeping quiet and somehow masking his scent in with the environment, Natsu only having gotten a bit lucky when he noticed just a small smell of someone else being around them. "Yeah, the rest of us are capable of magic. What's it to you pal?" Gray questions.

The man's face turns to one of confusion while he still keeps his hands up "Magic? I've never heard of there being anymore wizards, especially ones as young as you. Who are you people?" the man asks.

"We're mages from the guild Fairy Tail. And you're going to tell us why we're here. Did you bring us to wherever we are?" Erza questions as she continues to point her sword at the man.

"Fairy Tail? I do not know what you speak of, but I can assure you that whatever happened to you I was not a part of it. I just happened to be in the forest when I noticed a bright light appear and then saw all of you lying unconscious on the ground."

"Oh yeah, and how can we believe you?" Happy asks spreading his wings and flying up to the man's face who was even more taken back by now, not only was this one of the talking cats, but now it was flying up in front of his face? Could the other two do that as well?

"I think he's telling us the truth. It's obvious he's been hiding there since we woke up and before then, if he meant us harm I think he would've done so already." Carla says with her arms crossed.

"If you mean us no harm, the least you could do is tell us where we are." Erza asks.

"You are in the Eriador region of Middle-Earth young ones. If it also helps, I will give you my name, but you must also tell me yours. I am known as Strider." the man identified as Strider says.

"Strider? What the hell kind of name is that?" Gajeel questions.

Erza however ignores this as she finally lowers her sword, seeing this everyone else lowers their arms as Gajeel transforms his arms back to normal and Natsu extinguishes his fire. "Very well. My name is Erza. That's Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel, Happy, Carla, and Lily." Erza says nodding to each of her friends upon saying their names.

"Middle-Earth? I've never heard of such a place before." Lucy says.

"Looks like that request paper really did send us to another world, just like Anima." Lily says.

"Tch. Great. And unlike Edolas, we don't have anyone here who could help us get back to our world. This doesn't look good." Gray says.

"Wait a second. Did you say anymore wizards?" Wendy asks Strider who looks down at the young girl as he lowers his hands.

"Yes I did. There are five wizards in all, three of them I do not know where they are. One who has turned on us, and the other, my friend, I do not know what has happened to him. However, if he is alive he may be where I was heading, he may be able to help you. Tell me though, what are you talking about by request paper and another world?" Strider asks.

"To put it simple we're, not exactly from this place. We come from another place called Earthland, you've probably never heard of it because, well it doesn't exist in this world. And for the request paper-" Lucy is then cut off by Natsu as he has his arms crossed. "As a guild we do requests to help people as well as earn rewards for helping them. We were about to go out on a job when we came across this strange request with some strange letters on it that lit up and brought us here. Makes me even wonder if what was on that paper that we did understand was true, help destroy and then it showed us this drawing of a ring."

At this Strider turns his head a little eying Natsu specifically as if he might've known what he was talking about but wanted to make sure. "What did you say?" Strider asks.

"Hm?" Natsu hums as he and the others look at him confused. "Help destroy, and then there was this drawing of a ring on it. Under the words we did understand was some strange letters we'd never seen before." Natsu says raising his right eyebrow.

Strider's eyes widened as he heard this, turning away slowly and muttering to himself "Could they be talking about…"

"Hey, we can hear you, you know. Do you know what's going on?" Gajeel questions since he, Natsu, and Wendy did hear him thanks to their enhanced hearings.

All of a sudden a loud, high-pitched and terrifying screech of some kind echoed throughout the night sky, catching everyone's attention as they all looked up into the air. The Fairy Tail mages were a bit taken back by the strange sound while Lucy and Wendy were a bit frightened by how inhuman it sounded, while Strider seemed to have a worried look on his face.

"What the hell was that?!" Natsu questioned.

"That, that didn't sound like anything we know." Lucy says.

"It sounded scary!" Wendy says with her eyes closed and hands to her head as it faced downward.

"Frodo…" Strider quietly said, once again heard by the Dragon Slayers as he all of a sudden took off. "Huh, hey!" Natsu yells.

"Follow him!" Erza says as quickly the Fairy Tail mages began to run/fly after him.

 _Weathertop…_

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, not just a few weeks ago was living a normal life with his Uncle Bilbo in the homeland of the Hobbits, the Shire, celebrating his 111th birthday when everything changed. His uncle suddenly upped and left without saying anything, and his friend, the wizard Gandalf the Grey had told him about an item that Bilbo had left for him from when he had gone on a journey with Gandalf many years ago, was known as the One Ring. The ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron and that as long as it existed, Sauron continued to survive and his dark forces would stop at nothing to reclaim it to bring him back to life completely so that he may conquer all of Middle-Earth. Frodo had now found himself forced onto a quest to try and deliver the One Ring to the elves of Rivendell so that they, along with the men and dwarves of Middle-Earth could decide what to do with it, before he left his best friend Sam Gamgee had joined on the quest, not long afterwards was their other friends Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck, and Peregrin "Pippin" Took. The four arrived at the village of Bree where they were supposed to meet up with Gandalf who had gone for a meeting with his fellow wizard Saruman, but he was not there, the four were then met by the Ranger known as Strider who was going to lead them the rest of the way and protect them from the servants of Sauron known as Nazgul, or Ringwraiths.

The Ringwraiths were once nine great kings of men who were corrupted by rings of power given to them by Sauron himself, causing them to change over time until they eventually turned into the dreaded ring-servants of the Dark Lord who were bounded to the One Ring, and as such when the One Ring resurfaced, they were sent to take it back and as such had been chasing Frodo and his friends for some time. Frodo, his friends, and Strider eventually arrived at an old fortress known as Weathertop and Strider left to go scout out the road ahead of them. However, unfortunately in his leave, Frodo's friends had made the foolish mistake of starting a fire near the top while he slept so they could make food, the brightness of it could be seen for miles which is what drew five of the Ringwraiths in the area to them. And now, here they were. At the top of the ruins of the fortress, looking around for the servants of Sauron with their Barrow-blades out in hopes of defending themselves long enough until hopefully Strider returned.

The four Hobbits looked around at all of the openings, no Ringwraith in sight. Suddenly Frodo stopped and stared at one entrance, which is when one of them began to come over the steps on the other side. The Ringwraith wore nothing but a hooded dark-cloak, its face, if it had one, was completely shadowed inside of the hood as nothing was seen, it had on sinister-looking metal gloves and sharp-toed at the end boots, the Ringwraith reached for a sheathed away long sword on its left hip and pulled it out, holding it upwards in front of its face, tightening its grip on it more before finally taking a step forward. Frodo began to back up as the rest of his friends heard the metallic footstep and began to slowly turn around, all of them with fear in their eyes as suddenly the other four Ringwraiths, also in the same positions with their swords held up in front of them, appeared from the other doorways and in-synch, slowly walked towards the four Hobbits, towering over them immensely. The hobbits began to slowly step back, to terrified to do anything else as they held their daggers at the ready to try and fight back, the Ringwraith's brought their swords to their right sides and pointed them towards the hobbits, also ready to fight.

"Back you devils!" Sam yelled as he swung his dagger at the Ringwraith in the middle, the Nazgul easily blocking the swings as it then backhanded Sam and sent him flying to the ground against a pillar. Merry and Pippin were both too terrified to try anything and so at least got in between Frodo and the Nazgul to slow them down, but that did nothing as the Nazgul merely pushed them aside. Frodo was also terrified to do anything, even dropping his blade to the ground and tripping over backwards falling to the ground. Looking back at the Ringwraith's, Frodo suddenly began to hear a deep voice speak in a strange language, he looked at his chest pocket and reached into it, pulling out from it the golden One Ring as the voice seemed to be coming from it. The Ringwraith in the middle who was looking away, all of a sudden turned its head and looked right at Frodo who saw this, the Ringwraith began to walk towards Frodo while the others stayed back, pulling out a medium-sized dagger as it made its way towards Frodo who began pushing himself back using his feet while whimpering in fear. Frodo found himself pushed against a broken apart and fallen pillar as the five Ringwraith's began to descend on him, the lead Ringwraith pulled the dagger back, ready to stab Frodo as he then placed the ring on and disappeared before them.

Frodo all of a sudden finds himself in this, almost dark, whirling mist world as everything around him seems blurry. Looking up, he finds himself looking at the Ringwraiths, except this time, they are in the form of old men with crowns on their heads, their eyes darkened, he could see what they looked like before as men, the Ringwraith's were all glowing ghostly white and looking down at him as if they knew he was still there. He could hear whispers in the air, the lead Ringwraith began extending its left hand forward as Frodo suddenly found his hand with the ring on it going closer to the Nazgul's, as the Nazgul was about to grab Frodo's hand to take the Ring, Frodo found himself regaining control of his hand and pulled it away at the last second. The Nazgul reeled back and then drove its dagger into Frodo's left shoulder, causing him to cry out in absolute pain. All of a sudden a familiar battle cry rings out, drawing the Ringwraith's attentions away from Frodo as the dagger was pulled out from him.

Back in the real world, the Ringwraith's let out their terrifying screeches as Strider appeared, jumping in with his sword drawn as well as a lit torch as he swung his sword first, driving away the first Nazgul and then following with his torch to drive the rest back even more. In Frodo's eyes, all he saw was a dark shadow driving away the Ringwraith's with fire. He couldn't take it anymore and quickly pulled the ring from his finger, making him reappear back in front of the others as he cried out in pain again, the hole where the dagger was driven through evident on his shoulder.

"Frodo!" Sam yelled as he quickly got up and began to rush over to him. Strider continued to drive the Nazgul back swinging his torch as Sam ran past behind him over to Frodo "Oh Sam." Frodo says happy to see him. Strider swung his sword and torch continuing to drive them back until they finally stopped and began their counter-attack. The leader charged Strider and swung its sword down at him as he blocked it with his sword, this however left him open as the other four charged at him ready to run him through their swords, when suddenly four shadows flew at them and kicked all four of them back. The Nazgul stumbled back as the other one was taken back by this, allowing Aragorn to push it back as well as he then looked to his left to see Gray and Gajeel and to his right to see Erza and Natsu standing with him, ready for battle.

"Looks like you can use some help." Natsu says.

The Hobbits seeing the new people were completely confused, wondering just who they were and if they were friends of Strider or if he just happened to run into them and they followed him back here. Lucy and Wendy ran around the pillar and over to Sam and Frodo as they both knelt down beside them "You alright?" Lucy quickly asks.

"Let me take care of that wound." Wendy says as she holds her hands over Frodo's stab wound, her hands began glowing turquoise colored light shocking both of the hobbits.

"Go get them Natsu!" Happy cheered from above the two Hobbits who looked up and seeing the talking cat were once again in shock.

"What are those things?" Lily questioned worryingly.

"I don't know, but I'm getting a really evil presence off of them." Carla says. Lucy stood up and grabbed a hold of her keys, ready to call out one of her spirits if one of them tried to attack the downed people and Wendy. But the feeling she was getting off of these people, or whatever they were, was making her spine tingle just a bit with fear. Carla was right, it was like these things were surrounded by some kind of evil aura that was radiating invisibly off them, something that could drive people with fear if they stood just close to these things, luckily Lucy wasn't being affected much by it, but only a little bit.

"Hey, anyone else getting a strange feeling off these guys?" Gray asks aloud.

"That feeling is the aura of terror that surrounds these Nazgul, the Black Breath. It will make many who dare challenge the Nazgul tremble in fear of their mere presence except for the most hardened of warriors." Strider says.

"Heh, too bad for them that shit ain't nothing to us." Gajeel says.

"Take them down!" Erza orders as the warrior and mages charge forward to engage the five Nazgul. Strider swings his sword at the lead Nazgul in front of him, driving it back as it continues to block his blade. The Nazgul in front of Erza swings its sword at her, making her duck beneath it as she launches her attack driving her sword up the Ringwraith's body and causing it stumble back. Gajeel jumps up into the air **"Iron Dragon's Sword!"** he yells out, transforming his right arm into jagged steel blade and bringing it down onto the Nazgul in front of him sending it flying back into a pillar.

" **Ice Make Lance!"** Gray yells out, creating lances of ice that extend towards the Nazgul in front of him, skewering right through its cloak and sending it flying back beside the other Nazgul.

Merry and Pippin, who have rejoined by Sam and Frodo, see this with Sam and drop their mouths open in shock and awe "Did you see that?" Merry asks.

"Did they use magic?" Pippin asks.

"Just like Mr. Gandalf?" Sam says.

Just then however the two Nazgul knocked back by Gray and Gajeel stand up as if neither attack had any effect on them at all shocking the two wizards. "Not a single effect?" Gajeel says.

"These things aren't human, that's for sure." Gray says.

Natsu ducks underneath another swing from his Nazgul, lighting his right fist aflame "Try this on for size! **Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells out as he throws an uppercut into the Nazgul sending it flying up into the air and lighting its cloak aflame. As it lands back down a few feet away from him, the Ringwraith quickly gets up and lets out a screech, this one almost sounding like it was in pain as it began waving its arms wildly around before turning and suddenly running away confusing Natsu. "What the?"

Strider jabs his torch into his Nazgul, lighting it aflame as it screeched out in pain and turned tail running away while still on fire. "Fire! Fire is one of their weaknesses!" Strider yelled out.

"Really? In that case, **Requip!"** Erza yells, her body is engulfed in bright golden light. As it disappears, Erza is now seen equipped into her Flame Empress Armor and armed with her Flame Sword. Erza readies her sword and raises it forward, the Nazgul seem to notice what is going on though as the two knocked down by Gajeel and Gray quickly turn tail and run away back down the side of the ruins.

"Looks like they got the message and high-tailed it out of here." Gray says.

"Guys! You missed one!" Lucy calls out as everyone turns to their right to see what appears to be the lead Ringwraith attempting to sneak by them. As Strider is about to do something Natsu steps in front of him "Allow me." he says with a toothy-grin, suddenly taking the torch from Strider's hand and holding it in front of him as he sucks in the fire from it, shocking Strider and the Hobbits.

"Did he just eat fire?!" Pippin yells with wide eyes.

"Now that I've eaten. I'm all revved up." Natsu says grinning maniacally towards the Nazgul who actually begins stepping backwards, almost as if it was afraid of Natsu.

"Time to blow you away, **Roar of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells out as he bloats up his face and spews a massive blast of fire from his mouth. Completely shocking Strider and the four hobbits as the fire travels towards the Nazgul and engulfs him, an explosion erupts destroying the ruins behind where the Nazgul was as suddenly the Nazgul flies out from the explosion screeching out in pain and falling all the way down to the ground below.

* * *

"Dwahahaha! That was too easy!" Natsu yells while laughing with his hands to his hips, eyes closed and usual toothy-grin.

"Yeah, but you do realize you destroyed a part of this place right?" Lucy says with a deadpanned expression.

Strider is completely at a loss for words at what just happened. However he is suddenly brought back to reality by the painful cry of Frodo as Sam and the others also snap back to the important problem at hand "Strider!" Sam yells out as quickly everyone rushes over to the downed Hobbit.

"Wait, Wendy, he's still not healed?" Lucy asks.

"I-I can't heal his wound for some reason. It's almost as if this wasn't a normal sword that stabbed him." Wendy says with a worried tone.

"Help him Strider." Sam says.

Strider then picks up the dagger that was used by the Ringwraith to stab him as it laid beside Frodo. "That's because it wasn't a normal blade that stabbed him. He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade." Strider says as suddenly the blade disintegrates leaving only the hilt as he drops it.

"A Morgul blade?" Carla asks.

"It's a magical, poisonous dagger. It seems you have healing magic little one. But even this is beyond my skill to heal. Only the power of Elvish medicine can heal this and prevent him from turning. We must move quickly." Strider says as he picks up Frodo who still cries out in pain, quickly the Hobbits and Fairy Tail mages follow after him, though questioning in their heads along with the Hobbits what he meant by "turning."

A few hours go by as the two groups quickly run through the forest, dawn has come as the sky is now light blue, Strider with a re-lit torch while still holding onto Frodo over his shoulder, Sam also carries one while dragging their horse full of supplies along. The familiar screeches of the Ringwraith's pierce through the air as the groups go as fast as they can.

"Hurry!" Strider urges.

"Those things still aren't dead yet? Just what are they?" Lucy questions.

"More importantly, who are you people?" Merry asks.

"There will be time for explanations later. Focus on what's at hand." Strider says.

"We're six days from Rivendell! He'll never make it!" Sam says.

"Gandalf…" Frodo weakly says in his unconscious state.

"Hold on Frodo." Strider quietly says.

"Gandalf!" Frodo yells.

 _Night…_

Frodo's condition has worsened, his eyes and skin both ghostly pale and his face covered with cold sweat as he whimpers in pain. Placed on the ground Frodo stares up at a stone troll that is lightly covered in moss as then Sam appears looking down over him "Look Frodo. It's Mr. Bilbo's trolls." Sam says trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Suddenly Frodo's whimpers increase and get louder "Mr. Frodo?" Sam says beginning to get more worried as he puts his hand to Frodo's forehead. "He's going cold." Sam says to the others.

The group had stopped in the middle of the forest, three stone trolls surrounded them, upon originally arriving Lucy shrieked out upon seeing them but it was only after they noticed no movement from them did that keep Natsu and the others from destroying them since they obviously weren't trouble. Strider and the others continued to look out, keeping their eyes peeled for the Ringwraith's who seemed to be following them still.

"I wish I could help. I don't like hearing people in such pain and being unable to do anything." Wendy said in a sad voice as she sat down with her legs against her and arms wrapped around them.

Lucy knelt down in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder "It's okay Wendy. This is something entirely new to us and you can't blame yourself for it being like that. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be alright." Lucy says trying to reassure her.

"Is he going to die?" Pippin asks in a worried tone.

"You said something about him "turning," what do you mean by that?" Erza asks, she was now back in her normal armor.

Strider turned around "He's passing into the Shadow World. He'll soon become a Wraith like them." he explains.

"What?!" Gray questions in shock.

Frodo's eyes turn even paler as he lets out a painful gasp for air, suddenly a different screech echoes through the forest, but still belonging to the Ringwraith's.

"They're close." Merry says.

"How are they tracking us?" Lily questions.

"The Ringwraith's can smell the blood of living things that they desire and hate the most. But they are also drawn and can sense the presence of an item that we carry." Strider says.

"I'm guessing it's something not good with things like those chasing you." Gajeel says.

"Let's just say, you'll recognize it soon enough." Strider says before turning to Sam "Sam, do you know the Athelas plant?" he asks as Sam quickly gets up and runs up to him.

"Athelas?" Sam asks.

"Kingsfoil." Strider says as it seemed the plant went by another name.

"Kingsfoil aye it's a weed." Sam says now knowing what he was talking about.

"It may help to slow the poisoning. Hurry!" Strider says as he and Sam quickly take off to look for the plant.

"Gray, Gajeel, follow them and help them out." Erza says as the two nod their heads and quickly follow after them.

As Gray follows the path Strider took, he then hears something ahead of him "What's this? A Ranger caught off his guard?" it was a female voice. Gray put his hands together, ready to cast a spell if needed as he walked around a thick tree to see a woman with long black hair wearing a strange dark blue dress on a white horse holding a sword at Strider's neck as he stood back up with what was probably the plant he was talking about in his hands.

"Hey!" Gray yells catching the two's attention as he moved out and prepared to cast a spell, cold air surrounding his hands when Strider got in his way with his hands forward "Wait Gray. It's okay. She's a friend of mine." Strider says.

"Really? Not a lot of friends I know of who hold their friend at sword point." Gray questions.

"We don't have time to argue. If we are to save Frodo you will not harm her." Strider says.

Gray reluctantly agrees and lowers his hands.

 _Back with the others…_

Natsu and Wendy both sniff the air, smelling something as they turned making Lucy, Erza, and the Exceeds turn around as well. Frodo also seems to notice something, a bright light coming from his right as he slowly turns his head to see a horse and someone on top of it, covered by a bright light appear. The figure steps down and reveals herself to be a woman with long dark hair as she walks up to him and kneels down beside him "Frodo." she says.

Natsu and the others are about to do something when suddenly Strider and the others appear coming from behind her "It's okay. She's a friend." Strider quickly says before they can do anything.

The woman then speaks, her voice calm and soothing, in a strange language to Frodo, one the Fairy Tail mages have never heard of before.

" _I am Arwen. I've come to help you. Hear my voice...Come back to the light…"_

Frodo turns away, his voice rasping as he seemed to be trying to breathe. "Who is she?" Merry asks.

Strider rushed up to Frodo's side and knelt down with the kingsfoil plant in hand. "Frodo." the woman says again, her hair moving to reveal to the shock of the Fairy Tail mages, her pointed ears.

"She's an elf." Sam says.

"An...elf…" Lucy says quietly in awe. Having of heard about elves in old fairy tale stories that her mother used to read to her when she was little. And now, here was one, living, breathing, pointy-eared, and beautiful might she add, elf before her.

"He's fading." Arwen says as she moves his clothing to get a look at the stab wound. The area around it was darkened with dark marks seeming to be spreading out a bit around it. Strider takes of a piece of the plant and licks it, placing it onto the wound causing Frodo to gasp out in pain and for air again.

"He's not going to last. We must get him to my father.' Arwen says as Strider picks Frodo up and begins to carry him over to her horse, everyone watching this.

"I've been looking for you for two days." Arwen says when Merry worryingly asks "Where are you taking him?" but is ignored.

"There are five Wraiths behind you. Where the other four are, I do not know." Arwen says as Strider places Frodo onto the horse's saddle.

" _Stay with the Hobbits and these strangers. I'll send horses for you."_ Strider says now speaking in the language she spoke.

" _I'm the faster rider, I'll take him."_ Arwen replies.

" _The road is too dangerous."_ Strider says shaking his head slowly.

"What are they saying?" Pippin quietly questions.

"Hey, hey, at least speak in the same language so the rest of us can understand you…" Gajeel says quietly a bit annoyed.

" _If I can get across the river, the power of my people will protect him._ I do not fear them." Arwen says, the last part in the common language allowing everyone to hear her.

" _According to your wish…"_ Strider whispers finally agreeing to it, sliding a hand onto her's. Strider walks back as she mounts her horse sitting behind Frodo "Arwen...ride hard. Don't look back." Strider says, Arwen nods her head and has her horse begin to takeoff _"Ride fast Asfaloth, ride fast!"_

"What are you doing?! Those Wraiths are still out there!" Sam angrily yells at Strider but is ignored by him as he watches her off with a worried look.

"That may be, but we need to trust his decision." Erza says catching the Hobbits' attention. "Her method of travel is much faster than our own. Meaning she has a higher chance of getting to wherever this Rivendell is much faster, and as such, a higher chance of saving your friend. All we can do is hope for them that they don't run into trouble, and make it there." Erza says.

The Hobbits stare back off in the direction the elf went with Frodo, sadly and reluctantly, they have to agree with what Erza said since she was right. All they could do was hope that they would make it to Rivendell without being caught by the Wraiths and Frodo would be saved and waiting for them by the time they arrived.

The Fairy Tail mages also looked on, before all of them began looking at one another, all of them thinking the same thing. Whatever happened, whatever brought them here, it was for some kind of purpose that they did not yet know about. However, they had a feeling they would know about it soon enough.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

HELLO! Everyone. So-Pro Warrior here with a new story and, you guessed it. Fairy Tail and Lord of the Rings! Oh boy am I looking forward to this one, and I mean A LOT! I was actually stuck on deciding what story I was going to do since I cancelled/postponed Harry Potter and the Ringed Wizard. Both of them were stories involving a crossover with Lord of the Rings, but the decisions were between Lord of the Rings and well Fairy Tail, or Lord of the Rings and Kamen Rider (which might be another Neo-Heisei Riders one for those who follow me and my Neo-Heisei Riders Tail story).

But in the end since I have two other Kamen Rider stories going on at the moment, I decided to do a crossover, other than Kamen Rider with my most favorite anime series ever since I started watching it (and am sad that it is on hiatus till next year :(...) Fairy Tail! Soooooo here's this. But most likely once I finish this I'll do a Kamen Rider one so hey ;). Also...this is going to be my first attempt at trying to do a romance thing in a story as well, big NaLu shipper (NATSU X LUCY FOREVER! What can I say, I see something between them and...not even joking they are my first ever shipping that I've actually ever thought off in any kind of media so yeah XD). I mean sure I plan on doing some romance between them in Neo-Heisei Riders Tail, but for what I've got planned is wayyyy to far away at the moment compared to how short this is going to be, since it's only three movies...soooo yeah. Going to be my first ever story involving a side story of romance so I hope I do well since I've never done this before hehehe…(sweatdrops).

So, for all you Fairy Tail, Lord of the Rings, and NaLu shipping fans out there. Hope you enjoy!


	2. Rivendell, The Fellowship is Formed!

It had been a few days since the Fairy Tail mages found themselves transported into a strange new world. From what Strider had told them the night they arrived, they were in a land called Middle-Earth. As they, along with Strider and the remaining three hobbits, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, made their way towards this place known as Rivendell, they explained to Strider and the Hobbits who they were, where they came from, and how they got here. Needless to say, while Strider sounded intrigued by all of this information that they were telling him, the hobbits were beyond shocked and awed at the thought of these people, coming from a whole other world, entirely revolving around magic and the fact that they all utilized magic, even someone as young as Wendy. It was a bit hard for them to accept it at first, but once the members of Team Natsu showed off some of their magic, they believed them immediately.

Of course the hobbits grew curious and asked them if they had names for the types of magic they used since they all varied by the looks of it. Happy told them about how as Exceeds they had the magic of Aera, which pretty much granted them the ability to sprout wings and fly, Lily explaining to them how he had the ability to shift into a "Battle Mode" to make him larger and muscular for combat, Erza explained to them the concept of her Requip magic which allowed her access to various weapons and armor, each of her armor with various abilities/strengths to them. Gray told them he used Ice-Make magic which allowed him to make anything he could imagine out of ice, Lucy told them she was a Celestial Spirit mage which allowed her to summon magical beings based on the stars known as Celestial Spirits using her Keys, and then finally came Natsu who told them that he, Wendy, and Gajeel used Dragon Slaying Magic.

This definitely caught the Hobbits' and Strider's attention as Natsu went on to say that he was the Fire Dragon Slayer meaning he could control fire as well as eat it, Dragon Slayers having the ability to increase their powers if they eat their respective elements like he did back at Weathertop when he ate the fire of Strider's torch to give him some boosting to take out the Nazgul. Wendy told them she was the Sky Dragon Slayer which meant she could eat the air, but while she did have some offensive magic, as the Sky Dragon Slayer she was more towards a support and healing role, having healing magic as well as magic to support others in battle. Finally was Gajeel who told them that he was the Iron Dragon Slayer, which meant yes he could eat anything metal which included swords if he wanted to, making Strider and the Hobbits grab ahold of their sheathed weapons protectively while he wasn't paying attention.

When the hobbits asked if they had slayed any Dragons the three replied that they hadn't really, and even had an encounter with some dragons recently but only managed to give them a beating before they disappeared. Sam got a bit more curious and asked them where they each learned their magic, Carla said that all Exceeds had the ability of Aera, Lily seemed to be the only one beside another Exceed back in their world to have a battle mode shift, Erza told them that her magic came to her in a dark time when she needed it to help some friends in her childhood and trained in it once she arrived at Fairy Tail, Gray told them he learned his from his teacher, a woman named Ul, which Natsu and the others also explained is where he got his unfortunate habit of stripping out of his clothes without realizing it as during the journey to Rivendell he unknowingly stripped out of his shirt and sometimes even his shirt and pants leaving Strider and the Hobbits confused on why he did that until the others explained it, though they still questioned why it had become a habit of him to do such a strange thing.

Lucy told them she inherited her magic from her mother who was also a Celestial Spirit mage, when it came back to Natsu, upon him saying that he, Wendy, and Gajeel learned theirs from their parents who were Dragons, Strider and the Hobbits stopped in their tracks with the Hobbits gasping in shock upon hearing this with Strider's eyes widening. He asked Natsu, he and the others having of stopped when they noticed the others did and wondered why, what he said in which he repeated and explained that he, Wendy, and Gajeel were each individually raised by a different dragon who taught them their magic, he was raised by Igneel, a fire dragon, Wendy said she was raised by the Sky Dragon Grandeeney, and Gajeel told them his dragon parent's name was Metalicana. Each of the dragons found them abandoned at young ages and took them in, teaching them everything they needed to know including the Dragon Slayer magic until one day they all vanished on the same day, since then the three have hopes of one day finding them. Upon Lucy noticing the tension of Strider's hand on his sword, she asked him why he was like that in which he replied that in their world, Dragons once existed, but as powerful and dangerous monsters that only brought death and destruction, until they were all, at least he thinks, hunted down by brave warriors and slain.

The mages could tell he was a bit untrustworthy now towards Natsu and the others since they were raised by Dragons, they could understand since in his world it seemed there were no good dragons, quickly Lucy and the others assured him that in their world there are both good and bad dragons, the good dragons being ones who actually were friends with humans long ago in their history until a war between their kind with the bad dragons who despised and saw humans as nothing more but a food source, made them all but extinct as well. Natsu definitely in anger defended his father saying Igneel would never do anything horrible to humans, Wendy and Gajeel agreeing with him as well as all three Dragon Slayers said that their foster parents were good dragons that if it wasn't for them they could've died and wouldn't be where they were now with their friends. After a few tense moments, Strider finally eased up and apologized, having to remember that they were from a different world after all where things would obviously be different from his own, the Hobbits also coming to accept this fact as well after realizing it too. Strider however tells them to be careful not to mention such a thing to certain people, only if needed to, as there were certain races of Middle-Earth with horrible histories with Dragons and if they were to hear this might suggest that Natsu and the others are monsters or demons waiting to destroy them all because they were raised by Dragons and should be cut down.

While Natsu said he would like to see someone try and take him down, he and the others understood and said they would be careful not to mention it. It was now Team Natsu's turn to learn a bit about the new world that they were now in, and needless to say what they heard, reminded them of the kinds of things that would only be seen or heard of in fairy tale stories. Middle-Earth wasn't just inhabited by humans, or in terms of a race name went by Men instead, but also Elves, and Dwarves. Strider then went on to explain briefly about each of the other two races as well as what this world was like, such as the fact that while there was magic in this world, it wasn't as big as their own, there were a few people who could use magic in this world, all of them old, wise, and very powerful. Strider even talked about some of the creatures, both good, and evil, that inhabited the land. Before Team Natsu could learn anything else, or see if he knew anything about this ring they were supposedly sent here to destroy if there really was one, they found themselves arriving at a riverbed where it seemed a group of elven soldiers were awaiting them on the other side.

The soldiers told Strider that they had been sent by Lady Arwen to escort him and his companions to Rivendell, and so they did. Needless to say, upon arriving at the top of a mountainside pathway, Team Natsu, along with the hobbits were all in awe at the beauty of the place with their mouths dropped open and low gasps escaping from their mouths.

"Whoa…" Wendy says.

"It's...so beautiful…" Lucy says.

"Amazing…" Sam says.

The elven town of Rivendell was located at the edge of a gorge over a river below. Waterfalls were seen behind it, and the place was covered all over with lush, green trees, the buildings still being seen towering not that far above them of course. While the place didn't look massive, the beauty of the buildings and its surroundings was what had the mages of Fairy Tail amazed at the majestic sight.

"Come now." Strider says as he continues walking forward with the elven warriors still ahead of them, the Hobbits and then Team Natsu soon following after. Eventually they crossed the bridge and walked through the main gate into the town, the mages and hobbits looked around, their mouths still hanging open as they looked at the buildings surrounding them.

"Well, this is definitely a nice place." Gray says.

"They must have a lot of fish if they're situated over a river!" Happy says raising his right paw.

"Seriously? That's what you're thinking about?" Lucy questions with a deadpanned look.

As he's looking around, Natsu notices movement coming towards him and looks forward to see an old man with a long gray cloak and long white beard and hair, and a male elf, due to his ears, with long dark hair wearing some formal looking elven clothing, walking towards him and the others. It's not long till everyone else notices them, except Strider who had already noticed their approach from the beginning and walks up to greet them.

"Well, hello there my friends." the old man greeted.

"GANDALF!" the hobbits all yelled out as they rushed him and all gave him a hug.

"It is good to see you old friend." Strider says putting a hand on his shoulder as the old man known as Gandalf chuckles at him. "It is also good to see you to, Lord Elrond." Strider says.

"Indeed it is." the elf identified as Elrond says with a nod and smile. Just then he turns his head over to the Fairy Tail mages, taking a few steps towards them as Gandalf also looks at them, the hobbits getting off him and looking back at Natsu and the others. "And who might these people be?" Elrond asks Strider, still keeping his eyes on them.

"It's...a bit difficult to explain. To put it simple, they say they come from another world. And have been transported here." Strider says.

"Another world?" Gandalf questions, finding something like that to be completely ridiculous.

"No mister Gandalf, it's true. They can even do magic, look." Sam says. Taking that as a cue Natsu raises his right fist and engulfs it in flames. This definitely catches Elrond and Gandalf off guard, though their faces remain composed as then Erza takes a few steps forward with her arms crossed. "We speak the truth. We come from a world called Earthland. We're mages from a mage guild known as Fairy Tail. We found a request paper that was strange to us, on it was a drawing of a ring with the words _"Help Destroy!"_ on it, and then there was some strange letters underneath that we'd never seen before. All of a sudden the paper and words began glowing and the next thing we knew, we woke up in a forest and Strider appeared." Erza says.

"After that we helped him drive off some things called Nazguls and then helped him out in trying to get that guy Frodo here which is when some female elf came in and took him from us to get here faster so he could be healed of the poison in him." Gray says.

"Speaking of which, is he okay?" Lucy asks.

"Do not fret miss, young Frodo is doing fine. He has been healed, the poison sucked from him, and is just resting from all he went through." Gandalf says.

"Oh, that's good to hear." Sam says, suddenly fast walking up to Elrond and bowing his body forward "Thank you Mr. Elrond sir." Sam says.

Elrond slowly nods his head at Sam with a smile before looking back at the Fairy Tail mages with a serious face. "You said that this, request paper had a ring on it, yes? And strange letters?" Elrond asked.

"Yes, it did." Carla says.

"Hm, talking cats. That's a new one." Gandalf says.

"Technically we're called Exceeds, mister Gandalf sir." Happy says flying up into the air next to Natsu's head with his right paw raised.

"Flying, talking, cats. Very intriguing." Gandalf says.

"Gandalf." Elrond says looking back at him.

"Ah yes, of course. It seems, we have much to discuss, young mages. Follow me and Lord Elrond, and everything will be explained to you." Gandalf says.

* * *

Gandalf and Elrond lead Natsu and the others into what looks like a library, along the way learning their names and introducing themselves. Lucy looked around at all of the books with hopes that maybe she could get the chance to read some of them if they got any free time. "Tell me, young mages of Fairy Tail. Did these letters almost resemble these?" Elrond asks, pulling a book out of the shelf and opening it for the Fairy Tail mages to look at. Right on the two pages the book was opened up to, were strange letters meaning that the elves used a different language, which was clearly evident by Arwen speaking it in the forest that night. But that's when they realized, that the letters closely resembled the ones on the paper, a few of the letterings even on the two pages.

"This is it!" Wendy says as she and the others are shocked by this.

"Look, even some of the letters from the request are on here." Lucy says pointing one of the letters out.

"I see." Elrond says pulling the book away, closing it, and putting it back on the shelf where it belonged.

"Well now, it seems that some elvish magic was responsible for bringing all of you here to Middle-Earth." Gandalf says.

"Hey pal, what's the big idea!" Natsu angrily questions with his fist held up in front of him as he looks at Elrond. Elrond however remain unfazed by the angered Natsu's threatening look and calmly answered "I apologize young Natsu, but I'm afraid I myself do not even know what is going on. All I know, is that an elf with powerful magic sent this request to your world, and specifically, your guild. And it seems it was destined to come into your hands to bring you here." Elrond says.

"But why us? What's going on here? What's with this ring that the request said we had to help destroy?" Lucy asks.

"It seems, that the purpose of the request was to bring you here to help us. You may want to sit down, young mages of Fairy Tail. It is a long tale that must be told." Gandalf says.

Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Gajeel stay standing with the two Dragon Slayers walking towards two separate walls to lean against them. Lucy and Wendy found some nearby chairs and sat down on them as Happy flew onto Lucy's lap and Carla, Wendy's, Lily flew onto Gajeel's shoulder as he crossed his arms leaving only Gray who had his hands in his pants pocket and Erza with her arms crossed standing straight up.

"It began thousands of years ago…during the time of the Second Age. Right now it is the Third Age of our world. It began with the forging of the great rings. Three were given to my people the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven were given to the Dwarf lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And finally, nine, nine rings were given to the race of Men, who above all else, desired power. For within these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race." Elrond began.

"Really? Rings gave these people that much power?" Lily asks as he and the others are intrigued by this.

"That is correct Lily. These were no ordinary rings. They were known as the Rings of Power, magical rings." Gandalf says

"Unfortunately, every one of them had been deceived, for another ring was made, this one, was different and full of evil." Elrond continues, walking over to another shelf and grabbing a rolled up scroll. He walked towards the mages and opened it up to reveal to them a map of Middle-Earth. There was however, one spot on the map that they found themselves mysteriously drawn to, a land called _Mordor..._

"In the In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring, to control all the others. It was into this Ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life… There is an inscription on the Ring, that only appears when it is heated, it shows Elvish runes that would read in the common tongue, " **One Ring to rule them all**."" Elrond says.

Lucy shivered in place and put her hands to her shoulders "Just hearing that alone for some reason sends chills down my spine." she says.

"And so, one by one, the free lands of Middle-Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were of course some who resisted. In a last desperate attempt to end Sauron's reign of terror, a last alliance of Men and Elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the slopes of Mount Doom…we fought for the freedom of Middle-earth." Elrond says.

"Hm? We?" Erza asks noticing that part of what he said.

"That's correct. I myself was there at the final battle. I was but a lieutenant at that time." Elrond says.

"Eh?!" Natsu and Gray cry out, them along with the others shocked to hear this.

"You were there? You said thousands of years ago yet you barely look 50!" Happy says.

"It is as I said. We elves are immortal, once we reach our level of maturity, we stop aging. That does not mean of course we are invincible. But we never truly die unless we are slain in combat." Elrond says.

"Sheesh, bet gramps would've loved to have something like that in his life." Gray humorously says causing Natsu to chuckle a bit.

"Anyways, as I was saying. I was a lieutenant at the time, under the command of Gil-galad. We marched alongside our allies against the armies of Mordor. And it was on the slopes of Mount Doom, that we fought for the future, and freedom, of Middle-Earth. The battle was long, and deadly, many brave men and elves lost their lives in battle, even Gil-galad himself. But it was with their sacrifices, that in the end we won the battle. Evil in our world should have ended on that day, right then and there...but it did not." Elrond says rolling the map back up and placing it back.

"What happened?" Wendy asks.

"The power of the Ring, could not be undone." Elrond says.

"As we've told you already, this magic Ring was made with darkness and evil put into it. Only Sauron can truly wield its power. Anyone else who attempts to wield it, will be corrupted by it, driven mad, the Ring will attempt to make the person wielding it do evil deeds that they normally wouldn't do if they were themselves. It also has a mind of its own somehow, it will sometimes even attempt to "call out" to those of weak minded will who stare at it, attempt to make them kill the person with the Ring and take it for themselves until it is ready to go to a new host." Gandalf says.

"Seriously?" Lucy fearfully questions.

"I'm guessing it corrupted someone that day. And because of that it wasn't destroyed." Gajeel concludes.

"Correct. Sauron himself had come out to face us in the battle. The power of the Ring allowed him to slay many of our men in just one strike. Elendil High King of Gondor and Arnor charged at Sauron, but he too was struck down. His son Isildur rushed to his father's side, but he was already dead. Sauron walked over to finish him off, but it was in that moment when all hope had faded that he picked up his father's sword. Sauron stepped on the sword and the sword shattered, Sauron was about to finish off the young king but the sword was still sharp enough and with a quick strike he cut off Sauron's fingers and the one ring along with them. Sauron had been defeated, the One Ring, right there on the ground, the only way it could be destroyed was by casting it back into the fiery pit of Mount Doom where it was created. But…"

 _(Flashback…)_

Isildur picked up the Ring and looked at it. Suddenly Elrond appeared above him "Isildur hurry, follow me!" Elrond says. With haste Elrond leads Isildur into Mount Doom, Elrond enters and stands at the massive platform area near the Crack of Mount Doom where once Sauron had stood, while Isildur stands on the walkway behind Elrond still looking down at the Ring in his hand.

Elrond stared back at Isildur "Cast it into the fire!" he said.

All of a sudden, only to his ears the Ring began to whisper to him, saying something as then Isildur looked at Elrond. "DESTROY IT!" Elrond yells.

A sinister, and sly smile comes to Isildur's face as he whispers loudly "No." and begins to turn and walk away.

"ISILDUR!" Elrond yells after him, but is too late as Isildur walks out of Mount Doom.

 _(Flashback Ends…)_

"Isildur kept the Ring. The line of kings became broken. There was no strength left in the world of Men. They became scattered, divided, leaderless." Elrond says

"And what became of this Isildur?" Erza asks

"In the end…the Ring betrayed him…to his death." Elrond replies.

"Talk about some bad karma for keeping something like that and not destroying it." Gray says.

"What happened afterwards?" Lily asks.

"Isildur had dropped it into a river when he attempted to escape an ambush from surviving servants of Sauron, the Ring then disappeared from history for two and a half thousand years, and passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer. The Ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there, it consumed him. Another side effect of the Ring, it could bring unnatural long life to those who had it. And so, for five hundred years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited. Darkness had crept back into the forest of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the east, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived… it knew that its time had now come. And it abandoned Gollum. But something happened then the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable… A Hobbit." Gandalf says.

"Frodo?" Happy asks.

"Nope. It was his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, who at the time had been on a quest with me and some dwarves to help them reclaim their lost kingdom which had been taken over by a Dragon." Gandalf says.

Okay, so note to the Fairy Tail mages, Dwarves were the ones with bad histories with Dragons. "When the quest was over, he took it back with him to the home of the Hobbits, the Shire. It would then stay in his possession, for a very long time, luckily, it didn't drive him as mad as Gollum did. He was able to remain his old-self." Gandalf says. Gandalf then goes on to explain what had happened recently, his visit to the Shire as it was Bilbo's 111th Birthday, that he was there to celebrate it along with most of the Shire, and the events that transpired afterwards. Bilbo leaving for Rivendell, in fact he was already here, so that he could live with the Elves, leaving the Ring for Frodo as then Gandalf left Frodo so he could do some research to see if it truly was the One Ring which it was. Thus forcing him to quickly return to Frodo and tell him he needed to get the Ring out of the Shire as the Dark Lord's servants, the Ringwraiths which the Fairy Tail mages had already encountered, had captured Gollum and tortured him to tell them that the ring was at the Shire. Frodo and him were joined by Sam, and then Gandalf left to have a council meeting with his fellow wizard Saruman. However, it turned out that Saruman was now in allegiance with the enemy and captured him, held him at his tower of Isengard until he was able to escape recently thanks to an old friend, so anything after that he did not know. Only that it looked like Merry and Pippin joined them and they then ran into Strider at the town of Bree where he told them he would meet them and Strider who was also an old friend of his.

"And then Strider and the Hobbits made their way here, where along the way we came into the picture along with the Ringwraiths and Frodo getting stabbed by that Morgul Blade." Carla concludes.

"Well, yes, pretty much." Gandalf says nodding his head up and down.

"Okay, so there are still some guys who serve this Sauron guy right? We need to get this ring to Mount Doom, throw it back into the volcano, destroy it, all over. What's so difficult?" Natsu asks.

"The difficult part is that the enemy is regrouping. Sauron has returned." Gandalf says.

"Eh/Huh?!" The mages yelled out in shock.

"But you said he was destroyed!" Lucy says.

"He was, his physical body. However, his life is bound to that of the Ring. As long as the Ring survives, he survives, though as nothing more but a spirit, and a great eye that watches over all from Barad-dur in Mordor. However, if the Ring is returned to him. Then he will truly be brought back to life, and with the Ring in his hands, he will be unstoppable, and all of Middle-Earth will fall." Elrond says.

"Seriously?" Happy asks in a frightened tone.

"So much power in something as small as a ring? Even the magic rings we have back home don't have as much power as this thing." Gray says.

"As I said, I do not know how it is this request paper with our words ended up in your world. But all I do know, is that it seems it was destined to bring all of you here. Though, I am a bit curious as to why you? What is it about you young ones that, this person, whoever it may be, thought you could be of help to us?" Elrond questions.

"Why us you ask?" Natsu says straightening himself off the wall, and taking a few steps forward towards Elrond. "It's cause we're from Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in all of Fiore! And the strongest team of it as well!" Natsu triumphantly says throwing his right arm up as he shows off his Fairy Tail symbol below his shoulder.

"If our request, no matter what kind of predicament it has put us in. Is to help you destroy this Ring, then we will do so. As that is our job, and to not complete it would disgrace the name of Fairy Tail." Erza says.

"Besides, we aren't just going to sit by and let this Sauron guy get back his ring so he can use it to destroy your world. If we were brought here to help you out, then we'll gladly do so without a second thought." Lucy says standing up with Happy in her arms.

"It's not like we have anything else to do anyways. It's obvious that we aren't going to be returning to our world anytime soon until this Ring is destroyed most likely." Gajeel says with a toothy-smirk.

"Sauron won't even know what hit him when his lackeys come to deal with us. I'd like to see them try and take us down." Gray says.

"Please, allow us to help you, mister Gandalf, mister Elrond." Wendy says standing up with Carla in her arms.

Gandalf and Elrond look at each other, Gandalf nods his head at him as the two look back towards the Fairy Tail mages. "Very well, if you truly wish to help us. Then we will allow it. Tomorrow, there will be a meeting with some of the other leaders of Middle-Earth. You will remain out of it, only listening in on it while we discuss our plans to deal with the Ring. Once our plan has come to light, I will then have you come out and present yourselves, to let the others know that you will be assisting us in dealing with mission." Elrond says.

"Of course Lord Elrond." Erza says bowing forward in respect along with the others.

"Now then, if I may ask. Exactly what kind of magic is it that you use? We need to know what it is you're capable of if you are to deal with the armies of Sauron." Gandalf asks.

It was then that the Fairy Tail mages began their explanation to Gandalf and Elrond about their respective magic abilities, unfortunately Natsu, being as he is, accidentally mentioned that his, Wendy, and Gajeel's Dragon Slayer magic was taught to them by their foster Dragon parents when Gandalf asked where they learned their magic from. After receiving a punch to the back of the head from Erza, Lucy was quick to explain to them that in their world there were a few good dragons like their parents that took the three in when they were young and abandoned by their parents, even teaching them what they needed to know when it came to the human world as well as their magic to defend themselves. Gandalf and Elrond were quick to understand, but mentioned to them the same thing as Strider did, be careful who they say that around, especially at the meeting since there were people with bad histories with dragons. They quickly said they understood, Erza of course threatening Natsu if he blabbed that out again.

"Well, if there is nothing else to deal with. I must go and see how Frodo is doing. I have a feeling he should be waking up soon." Gandalf says.

"Until the meeting tomorrow, you are free to wander about Rivendell. I will have some of my men show you to your living quarters for tonight. Are there any questions?" Elrond asks.

"Uh, yes. Don't supposed you have any books that can translate your words into, well our own?" Lucy asks a bit shyly. Elrond smiles at her "I take it you find much joy in literature, miss Heartfilia." Elrond says.

"Oh yeah, that's for sure. Get Lucy a new book and she won't be seen for days!" Natsu says humorously with his eyes closed and a toothy-grin as he points back at her with his thumb.

"That's not true!" Lucy yells angrily.

"I do. Though, I do not know how much time you will have before you need to head out." Elrond says as he walks over to the shelf behind him to grab the book.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. I got something to help me with that." Lucy says.

* * *

Sure enough, Lucy did, though with some help from Erza who used her Requip magic to equip some Gale-Force Reading Glasses onto her before handing them over to Lucy. While the rest of Team Natsu went out to explore Rivendell, Gandalf went to check on Frodo who had actually awaken, and Elrond went off to do...who knows what, Lucy sat in the library, using her glasses to easily get through the book Elrond had given her. The glasses allowed her to read through the entire book with incredible speed and ease, as well as get all of the information she needed into her head before she began going through some of the other books in the library, learning about the history of the Elves, Middle-Earth, the kinds of creatures that inhabited it, and a whole lot of other stuff. As the sun began to set behind the mountains, a loud, annoying moan interrupted her thoughts as she looked up from the book she was just looking at to see Natsu, who had actually decided to stay in the library with her, much to her shock and confusion, sitting on the other chair having of just woken up from his nap a few minutes ago. She figured as much he was going to pass out, it still confused her why he decided to stay, but he just said because he felt like it.

As much as Lucy wanted to continue reading more of the other books in the library, she also wanted to get a look around this Rivendell place to see what the rest of it looked like. So she put her book back where it belonged and lifted the glasses up onto her head to make sure she gave them back to Erza later on. "Alright Natsu, all done. Want to go check the rest of Rivendell out?" Lucy asks.

"Finally! I'd thought you'd never ask! You know how much torture it was just sitting here doing nothing?" Natsu questioned.

"I didn't force you to stay with me you know. On the other hand it also might've been good, last thing we need is you getting into a fight with Gray or Gajeel for some stupid reason. Since they had the entire day to explore the place they're probably already in their room being watched over by Erza to make sure they don't do anything." Lucy says.

"Can't you guys ever trust me to never get into a fight with Gray or Gajeel? Sheesh it's not like we do it everyday." Natsu says as he stands up with his hands behind his head.

"Natsu. You guys do fight everyday." Lucy says with a serious deadpanned look.

Night has fallen by the time Natsu and Lucy have explored pretty much the entire place. Lucy found the place even more beautiful now that they were inside of it then outside. She did read that Elves always seemed to be one with nature itself when it came to building their homes, after all, this place, along with the other places that elves lived were all inside of thick forests such as the Elves that lived at Mirkwood or Lothlorien as she found their names called. The two eventually arrived at a two story building and went inside to check it out. As they walked down the hallway and turned into a doorway, they were greeted by a man with light brown hair as well as light facial hairs around his mouth, the man wore some leather clothing over a chain-mail armor since there was chain-mail sticking out past the holes in his sleeves and pants and what looked like leather vambraces on his arms. A close collision with Natsu made both the man as well as the two mages stop in their tracks, the man eyed the two of them strangely, looking like he was a bit confused as Natsu eyed him back as well wondering why he was looking at him and Lucy like that. Lucy grabbed Natsu's arm and tugged him a bit to move him aside and then pulled him along as the man continued to watch the two off before then turning and going on his way out of the building.

"What the hell was that guy's problem?" Natsu questioned.

"Who knows? Probably wondering who we are and what we're doing here, after all it's not like you see anyone else as young as us around here." Lucy replies.

The two walk up some stairs arriving at a second floor open hall-like balcony to see a familiar face standing in front of a female statue. "Oh, hey Strider!" Natsu calls out catching the man's attention as he turned towards them.

While Natsu walks up to him, Lucy notices something to her right and walks over to it "Hello there Natsu. From what I hear, it seems you and your friends will be helping us deal with the One Ring?" Strider asks.

"Hehe, you bet we will. As soon as you guys are done figuring out how to deal with it and everything tomorrow that is." Natsu says giving him his signature grin.

While the two continued to talk behind her, Lucy walked up to a large painting on the wall. On it was two figures, an armored man on the ground holding up a broken sword that was glowing to a dark, massive, shadowy figure. "What you see there is a painting of Isildur holding up the broken sword against Sauron." Strider says catching Lucy's attention as she turns around to look at him and Natsu who are both staring at her.

"Really?" Lucy says as she looks back at it. "And that's...Sauron?" Lucy asks, just looking at the picture of him was a bit frightening.

"Yes. His physical body before it was destroyed." Strider answers.

"Teh, he doesn't look so tough. I could beat him with one fire punch to the face." Natsu says confidently.

"Do not underestimate him. It will be the last thing you regret, especially if he gains back the One Ring." Strider says. As Lucy turns back to them, she takes notice of the statue holding something in her hands and walks over to it passing between the two, stepping up on a step to look down at the stone tray being held in her hands. On it was a light blue cloth with broken pieces to a sword on it, however it was then that she recognized what it was.

"Wait a minute, is this the broken sword that cut his hand?" Lucy asks looking back at Strider.

"Correct, those are the pieces of Narsil, the sword of Elendil. The very same sword used to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand." Strider says.

"Amazing…" Lucy says in awe looking down at it as Natsu joins beside her. Suddenly picking it up in his right hand, Lucy freezes in her spot, blinking a few times trying to take in what just happened as Natsu looks at the sword in his hand, finally realizing it Lucy quickly and carefully pulls the sword from his hand "Oh no you don't." she sternly says, carefully placing the sword back where it belonged.

"Huh? What?" Natsu asks as the two step down from the statue and puts his hands to his hips.

Lucy puts a finger to his chest and leans up to him "Something as valuable as that is not something **you** of all people should be handling." Lucy says.

"Eh~? Why me? You act like I'm going to eat it or something. I'm not Gajeel if anything you better hope he doesn't come here or he just might eat it." Natsu says leaning towards her to defend himself feeling annoyed.

"In that case when we wake up I'll make sure to keep an eye on both of you to make sure you come nowhere near this place. Something as important as that with you two around here means it has a high chance of either getting melted or eaten and I'm sure no one here would like that one bit considering its importance in history." Lucy retorts.

Natsu leans back and groans, Lucy turns to Strider "Sorry if we bothered you mister Strider. We'll just be on our way." Lucy says as she quickly puts her hands on both of Natsu's shoulders, turns him around and begins pushing him annoying him even more.

"I can walk myself you know!"

"Then get walking!"

Strider however continues to watch the two off with a perplexed look on his face, their voices getting quieter as they begin to walk down the stairs. These people were definitely strange, he could say that much so far with what he knew.

Suddenly Arwen appears from the shadows behind him "Those two are very strange." she says, Strider not moving an inch as if he knew she was there somehow as he continues to watch the two walk out of the room still arguing. "Indeed they are. Along with the rest of their friends, it appears only the youngest is the "normal" one. But I question how long that will last since she always seems to be beside them." Strider says.

"If they really are going to be joining whoever carries the ring to Mount Doom. They will definitely stand out." Arwen says.

" _Isn't that a bad thing?"_ Strider asks in the elvish language, finally turning to look at her.

" _However, for some reason. I get this, strange feeling that whatever happens. This quest that they will be going on no matter what, may change them. Specifically, those two."_ Arwen replies in her native tongue.

* * *

 _The Next Morning…_

The meeting that Elrond mentioned, was about to begin. A congregation of men, elves, and dwarves sat on chairs in a semi-circle around a stone pedestal directly in the center of them all. Gandalf and Frodo sat next to each other at one end, Strider was also among them as well, as Elrond stood up from his throne-like chair to begin "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor."

Meanwhile hiding behind the pillars close to the meeting were the members of Team Natsu as they listened in and watched.

"Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall… Each race is bound to this fate, this **one** doom." Elrond then looks directly at Frodo who looks back at him "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." Elrond says as he gestures towards the pedestal. Frodo gets up and slowly walks towards the pedestal, all eyes on him which was what was making him nervous as he then brought out the One Ring from his pocket and placed it on the pedestal for everyone to see.

"So, that's the One Ring huh?" Gray questions. All it was, was just a small, golden ring. Nothing about it looked so special, but then again, that was just its looks. If what they heard was true, then there was a lot more about that ring then just its looks.

"So it is true…" the man that Natsu and Lucy ran into the previous night whispers a bit aloud, this catching Strider's attention as he turned to look at him.

Frodo sat back down beside Gandalf and let out a sigh of relief, almost as if a great burden was released from him the minute he let the ring go. The members of the meeting all stared at the ring, some of them whispering to each other when suddenly the man stood up from his seat catching everyone's attention. "In a dream...I saw the eastern sky grow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered." the man then began to slowly approach the pedestal. "A voice was crying: "Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's Bane is found."" The man approached it, Elrond and Gandalf exchanged concerned looks at one another before looking back at him, the man began to slowly extend his hand out towards the ring whispering out "Isildur's Bane…"

"Boromir!" Elrond yelled out as he jumped out of his seat. Suddenly Gandalf began to chant in a strange language that was not elvish, his voice beginning to boom out into the air as he stood up

" _Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. (One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.)"_ Thunder crackled and echoed through the sky which then darkened. As Gandalf chanted, it seemed that the Ring was as well, loudly into the air as whispers, which began to penetrate everyone's minds as they all resisted it. However they weren't the only ones affected by it.

"Lucy-san!" Wendy cried out as she ran towards Lucy in fear, Lucy crouching down to grab Wendy and wrap her arms around her protectively as she too was also a bit frightened by what was going on. Natsu and the others looked around and stood at the ready in case anything started to happen, Happy had sweat going down his face, his eyes closed as he had his face lowered and his paws pushing his ears down alongside Lily, though this was due to the lightning he was hearing but was still trying to keep a brave a face as possible as he looked forward with his eyes opened.

"What the hell?" Gray says.

"What's with that other voice?" Natsu questions.

"No way, is that…" Gajeel begins to say when Erza finishes it for him "The Ring…"

Everything then comes to a sudden stop. Gandalf stops chanting, as does the ring. The sun reappears and shines through the trees, Boromir, horrified by what has happened steps back and sits down as everyone begins to relax themselves from what had transpired.

"Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris." Elrond says, a bit angered at Gandalf.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond. For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard, in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil." Gandalf says as he begins to walk back to his seat.

"Hey, Lucy, Wendy, you alright?" Natsu worryingly asks the two rushing over to them. Lucy and Wendy both open their eyes and stare up at him nodding their heads as Lucy stood back up.

"It is a gift." the man identified as Boromir suddenly says, catching everyone and especially Gandalf, who has an angered look on his face, attention. "A gift to the foes of Mordor." he then stands back up and walks a bit to his right as he continues. "Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe." everyone is silent as he walks back and forth, listening to what it is he has to say, though none of them are liking it one bit.

"Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"

"Pfft. Yeah, cause the last guy who had it turned out so well." Gajeel comments.

"You cannot wield it! None of us can." Strider suddenly speaks up, bringing everyone's attention, especially Boromir towards him as Boromir slowly turns around and looks at him. "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master." Strider says.

"And what would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir questions. Suddenly one of the elves with long blonde hair stands up "This is no mere Ranger." he says taking a step towards Boromir who looks back at him.

"He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance." Suddenly there is once again a long silence, Frodo looks towards Strider, now identified as Aragorn as Boromir also slowly turns back to him, a shocked look on his face for some reason.

"Aragorn?" Carla questions, her and the others wondering what was so important about that name.

"Aragorn...This, is Isildur's heir?" Boromir questions.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." the elf speaks again.

"Eh~?" Lucy whisper shouts in shock as her eyes widened. "He's the heir to the guy who defeated Sauron all those years ago?"

"W-We were in the presence of a King this whole time?!" Natsu questions in shock.

"But…" Wendy says as her and the others realize something.

"Why does he look like he was trying to hide it?" Gray asks.

"I think he **was** trying to hide it. But why?" Erza says.

" _Sit down, Legolas."_ Aragorn says to the elf identified as Legolas in elvish. Legolas continues standing as then Boromir looks back at him "Gondor has no king." he says in a venomous tone. Turning and walking back to his seat eyeing Aragorn "Gondor needs no king."

"What's his problem?" Gray questions.

"Who knows. It sounds like there's something going on with this Gondor place that we don't know about." Erza says.

"Gondor is one of the major lands of Middle-Earth, one of the lands ruled by Men. That's all I know about the place though." Lucy says.

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it." Gandalf says as Aragorn and Legolas sit down.

"You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed." Elrond says.

"Oh, did someone say destroy?" Natsu sarcastically questions with a mischievous smirk as he lights up his right fist and raises it. Lucy however quickly gets in front of him with an angered look "You idiot! Don't you remember what Elrond said before?!" Lucy whisper yells.

"What are we waiting for?" one of the dwarves say, this dwarf with auburn colored long and bushy hair and beard that easily reaches past his chest just a bit above the waist. The dwarf stands up, picking up an axe next to his chair as he walks over to it, Elrond moves to try and say something and stop him, but is too late as the dwarf swings his ax down with a battle cry, and hits the ring. In a bright flash of light his axe is broken to pieces and he is sent flying onto his back, shocking everyone, including himself as the Fairy Tail mages also see this and are shocked as well.

"So, you still want a try at it?" Lucy questions Natsu. Natsu gulps "Nah, I'm good."

"I'd like to see you try to eat that metal-head. Would probably give you some bad indigestion." Gray says to Gajeel. On the pedestal, the ring remains intact with the smoking shards of the axe around it as whispers in the black speech emit from it once more.

The other dwarves quickly rush over to their kin to make sure he is okay as he looks back at the ring with an opened mouth of shock. "The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and casted back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you...must do this." Elrond says.

Once again, silence is heard as everyone takes in what Elrond has said. But they all know that there is one **major** problem with this plan. "One does not simply walk into Mordor…It's Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye, is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland...riddled with fire, and ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume…"

"Sounds like your kind of home flame-head." Gray remarks humorously. Ticking off Natsu who turned towards him with an annoyed look on his face "Sorry, you say something ice for brains?" Before the two could continue anymore they both could suddenly feel the deadly gaze of Erza behind them, sending tingles down their spines as they both quickly separated.

"Not with 10,000 men could you do this. It is folly." Boromir says.

Legolas jumps up from his seat "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!" he says looking around at the others.

"And I suppose you think you are the one to do it!" the dwarf known as Gimli suddenly yells.

"And if we fail, what then?" Boromir yells out as he pushes himself back up to his feet. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!"

Gimli then jumps off his seat towards Legolas "I will be dead, before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli yells. Just then the entire council, except for Aragorn, Gandalf as he shakes his head in disbelief, and Frodo who obviously has no say in this and is frightened, erupt into an argument over the ring as they all get up from their seats and begin yelling at each other.

"Never trust an elf!" Gimli yells.

"What just happened?" Happy asks.

"Bad history." Lucy says making the others look at her.

"Bad history?" Lily asks.

"Yeah. I read about it in one of their books. Looks like the Elves and Dwarves have had a bad history, and because of that they distrust each other." Lucy says.

"Damn morons, can't they put that shit aside and deal with what's important right now?!" Natsu angrily questions.

"Looks like sadly, they can't." Erza says.

"Do you understand? While you bicker amongst yourselves Sauron's power grows!" Gandalf begins to yell as he lifts himself up with his magic staff. "None can escape it! You'll all be destroyed!"

Frodo remains seated, watching the Ring uneasily as the angry figures of the council reflected on its surface. Suddenly, he sees flames flare up, engulfing the surface of the Ring and the reflections on it as the intensity of the arguments increase. Suddenly, and slowly, determination dawns on Frodo's face. He stands and takes a few steps toward the arguing council, Natsu sees this as Frodo begins trying to make his voice heard above everyone.

"I will take it!" No one hears him though as he tries again. "I will take it!" once again, nothing.

Anger begin to course through Natsu as he clenched his hands into fists, suddenly and without warning he sprinted forward, the others unable to react in time to catch him "Natsu!" Lucy called out but to no avail. Elrond happened to hear it and looked to see Natsu running towards the circle, suddenly stopping in his tracks outside of it "HEY! EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL U~P!" Natsu yells very, very loudly into air, his screaming immediately stops everyone as they all turned and stared at him with wide-eyes of shock. Not only due to his massive and loud voice, but also due to the fact that there was now someone there that they'd never seen before in their lives.

Lucy and the others all stare in wide, blank eyes, and mouths dropped open as moans of shock come from all of them, they couldn't believe that...wait...yeah they could, and unfortunately they didn't react in time to stop him. Gandalf and Frodo also stared wide-eyed in shock as well, Elrond puts his hand to his face, it seems there were some...annoying qualities to Natsu that he and Gandalf were just now learning about...unfortunately.

"Geez if you punks could just get your damn heads out of your asses and try listening for once. You'd know that someone who finally has the balls to do what the rest of you can't is trying to step forward!" Natsu angrily says to the council members.

"My eyes were not deceiving me that night." Boromir says. With the secret kind of out already the rest of Team Natsu walks out into the open behind Natsu "I apologize for the interruption Elrond. I will make sure **someone** is punished for it later." Erza says eyeing Natsu with an evil look in her eyes making Natsu sweat a bit as he still keeps up the angered and annoyed look on his face.

"Elrond, who are these...children? And...flying cats?" Boromir questions.

"Huh? Who the hell do you think you're calling a kid?!" Natsu angrily questions, Erza suddenly leaning towards him with an angered look on his face as he leaned back and knew to shut up now.

"Actually we're called Exceed." Happy says without a care in his usual joyous tone raising his paw into the air shocking all of the people there.

"These young ones, Boromir. Are…mages from a far and distant land." Elrond says. Going with a distant land instead of another world since he did not need to cause any more confusion amongst the council.

"Distant land? Don't you mean another-" but before Natsu could say anymore Lucy quickly covers his mouth with her hands reducing his sentence to a muffle.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Gimli asks not believing that these kids possessed magical abilities,

"He speaks the truth. Go ahead, show them." Aragorn says to the members of Team Natsu. Natsu lights up his fist, Wendy creates a ball of wind in her hands, Gajeel transforms his arm into an Iron Club, Gray creates a sword out of ice, Erza requips a sword into her hand, and Lucy brings out one of her keys and without saying a word, the Celestial Spirit Capricorn appears beside her with his hands behind his back.

Seeing this, the council is taken back in complete shock, Lucy sends Capricorn back to the Spirit World as the others power down their magic abilities. "These mages come from a distant land, they got stranded here in Middle-Earth and until they can find a way back they have agreed to help us destroy the One Ring." Gandalf says speaking up.

"Which is why if you don't mind. Frodo would like to speak now. Go ahead, Frodo." Natsu says looking at Frodo. Suddenly, all eyes turned towards Frodo who was still trying to recover from Natsu's incredibly loud yell, but quickly did so as he finally spoke. "I will take the Ring to Mordor."

From strange, young mages from a faraway land, and now the young hobbit saying he was going to do the impossible, this was turning out to be a very strange council meeting. "Though...I do not know the way." Frodo says.

Hearing this, Gandalf was the first to step up "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins. As long as it is yours to bear." Gandalf says as he walks up to him, patting him on his left shoulder before stepping behind him. Aragorn is the next one, sitting up from his chair "If by my life or death I can protect you...I will." Aragorn says, walking towards Frodo and kneeling down before him "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow." Legolas says stepping up to join them.

"And my axe." Gimli says. The two join alongside the other three.

"Gihi, you do realize the kind of trouble that's going to be ahead right? This isn't going to be just some walk in the park kid." Gajeel says.

"You sure about this, Frodo?" Gray asks.

"I will do what I must. No matter the challenge that comes ahead." Frodo replies.

"Hm." Erza hums with her eyes closed, then opening them up and smiling. "Very well then."

"Don't worry Frodo, you got yourselves the most powerful team of mages from Fairy Tail by your side!" Natsu says with his grin.

"You can count on us!" Lucy says throwing her right arm across her chest and giving him a thumbs up and wink.

"We won't let you down!" Wendy says with a determined voice and look in her eyes as she raises her fists.

"Aye!" Happy says.

"Sauron's forces won't know what hit him." Carla says.

"This is what we have to do anyways." Lily says as the Fairy Tail mages walk over and stand beside Frodo and in front of Aragorn.

"I still do not know what is going on here with, children mages, talking cats, and whatnot. But I guess if they are here to help us, then I can trust them for now. You carry the fates of us all little one." Boromir says as he begins walking towards the group, stopping a bit away from them.

"If this is indeed the will of the Council...then Gondor will see it done." Boromir says.

Suddenly a yell comes from a nearby bush, everyone except Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel are surprised when suddenly Sam runs in from behind the group and up to Frodo as Aragorn moves aside a bit. "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me." Sam quickly says.

"No indeed it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not." Elrond says with a humorous smile on his face at this predicament.

"Hey! We're coming too!" the familiar voice of Merry yells out. From a nearby doorway Merry and Pippin appear, running up the stairs into the circle as even Elrond is surprised by this and watches as the two run past him to join the others.

"You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us." Merry says as he and Pippin move beside Frodo to his left.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of...mission...Quest...Thing." Pippin says making a few people stare at him incredulously.

"Well that rules you out, Pip." Merry says, making Pippin look back and forth at him a few times.

"If we need intelligence on this mission then I guess we should just kick out these two morons over here." Gray says with his eyes closed while gesturing to Natsu and Gajeel with his thumb.

"What was that?! You wanna go stripper/ice boy!?" Natsu and Gajeel angrily retorted.

Elrond looks at the group in front of him, "Eighteen companions." Elrond says in awe. At the front were the four Hobbits, from left to right Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin. Behind them were the members of Team Natsu, from left to right Gajeel, Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza, and behind them were the others from left to right Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli, the three Exceeds flying above all of them.

"So be it. You shall be the Fellowship, of the Ring." Elrond says.

"Great!" Pippin says. "Where are we going?" he then asks...


	3. The Beginning of the Journey

Not that long after the council meeting was over and the decision was made for the Fellowship to depart Rivendell the next day bright and early, the next thing Natsu knew he was seeing darkness. Probably because when he wasn't looking Erza slammed her gauntlet fist into the back of his head and sent him face first into the ground for what he did back there...he was knocked right out cold...a little bit too cold that a few of the Fellowship even thought that he was dead. But he began breathing not that long after, but still remained out. Since it was obvious he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, Lucy decided that she would watch over him till he woke up while the others prepared for what was surely going to be a really, really long journey tomorrow. With help from Happy, Lucy picked up Natsu putting his right arm around her shoulders and carried him back to the room him and the other guys slept in the previous night. After that she went to the library, picked out a few books for herself to read through some more, and went back to watch over Natsu till he woke up.

Natsu began to stir, he opened his eyes and sat up, pain throbbed at the back of his head making him wonder what had happened, when the strange feeling that he received his "punishment" from Erza came to mind as he rubbed the back of his head. With how powerful a punch that was, he was lucky he still remembered everything that had happened this afternoon with the council and him and the others now being a part of "The Fellowship of the Ring" as Elrond called the group. Speaking of which, looking outside he noticed that it was already night time. "Well, look who finally woke up."

Natsu turned his head to the desk that was in the room to see Lucy there, a stack of books to her right with one right in front of her as she was currently looking at him. "Let me guess, Erza." Natsu says, Lucy nods her head.

"Sheesh, did she have to hit so hard this time? She could've killed me for real this time!" Natsu yelled the last part.

"Well maybe next time that'll make you think twice before doing something so stupid as to run into a group of strangers who don't know us and then suddenly yell at them to shut up!" Lucy retorts back.

Natsu crosses his arms and legs and pouts his face up "I was just trying to help Frodo out a bit since those assholes wouldn't listen to him 'cause they were arguing over stupid things." Natsu says.

Lucy lets out a sigh, she and the others did have to agree on what he was doing was a bit helpful. Otherwise who knows how bad things could've escalated, the Fellowship probably wouldn't even have been formed and the Ring, well who knows. But unfortunately Natsu was still, well, being his old-self, reckless and just doing things without consulting the others before he did it. He's just lucky that things went the way they did after he "so kindly" told them all to "shut the hell up" and "get their damn heads out of their asses," in fact Lucy kind of wondered now if they understood the concept of that last saying?

"Well, I know you were knocked out for the entire day. But you better get some sleep, we start our mission to Mordor tomorrow. Erza and the others have been spending the whole day getting what supplies we'll need for the journey ready. Though considering the vast distance between here and Mordor, this'll be our longest request ever, it'll take who knows how many months till we get there, maybe even longer depending on what kinds of problems we run into along the way. I highly doubt the creatures that work for Sauron are just going to let us get to Mordor without trouble." Lucy says.

"Yeah, well I'd like to see them try and take the Ring from us! They ain't never seen anyone like us before!" Natsu confidently says.

"True, we may have the element of surprise on our side, for now, and with us and our magic here, we can be of big help to Aragorn and the others of the Fellowship. But I've been doing some research on the kinds of creatures we will most likely run into while on this journey. And we can't forget to take into consideration we're dealing with a massive army. We'll be outnumbered." Lucy says.

"Come on Lucy, since when have numbers ever stopped us before?" Natsu questions with a laid-back look on his face.

"Well, with what we could be facing, they just might help. Still, considering how long this mission might take, makes me wonder what things will be like when we get back home." Lucy says feeling a bit worried, after all, the last time they disappeared from Fairy Tail for seven years they came back to find out how bad things had been for the Guild and their friends that remained.

"Don't worry about them Lucy. Remember the old man along with most of the others were gone from the Guild with us. But with him and them there, I highly doubt they'll let anything happen to it without us." Natsu says trying to cheer her up, which works as she smiles at him and nods her head.

"Yeah!"

Just then the door opens up as Gray and Gajeel walk in followed by a flying Happy and Lily. "Well, about time someone woke up. Now go back to bed flame-head we got a long day tomorrow." Gray says.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it already." Natsu replies back in an annoyed tone.

Lucy picks up the books and turns to Natsu "Night Natsu, see you tomorrow." she says with a smile and her eyes closed as she turns to the door and begins walking "Night guys." she says while passing by Gray and the others. As she walks out the door Happy suddenly flies by her head with a mischievous look on his face and his right paw close to his mouth "Oh, did we interrupt something in there?"

And like always, his stupid teases angered and annoyed Lucy "Nothing happened in there you stupid cat! Now go to bed before I make you!" Lucy yells as Happy just calmly flies back into the room and closes the door. Making Lucy sigh "Why is it always me?" she quietly says as she walks back to the library to return the books so she can then turn in as well.

 _The Next Day…_

The sun had barely arose over the mountain yet, but that did not matter as the members of the Fellowship were beginning to gather together before the gate. So far, only Boromir, Gimli, Legolas who had just arrived, and three of the Hobbits, Sam, Merry, and Pippin were there along with a single horse to carry some of their supplies, albeit it wasn't a whole lot. The Fellowship knew that they had to travel lightly so that they could go across any terrain on their way towards Mordor as well as so they didn't have the issue of fighting the enemy with a whole bunch of stuff on them should they come across any trouble.

The door to the boy's room was slammed open by Erza, already in her normal armor with Lucy, Wendy, and Carla behind her "You better be ready and not dilly-dawdling or else you're going to be in a world of pain before we even left!" Erza sternly says. Lucky for them though Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Happy, and Lily had just finished getting their stuff together and getting dressed "Funny, we were just about to come ask to see if you were ready ourselves." Gray replies as he and the others walked up to the girls.

"Gihi, well now what are we all waiting for? Let's go get this damn ring destroyed." Gajeel says.

* * *

Team Natsu, along with the rest of the Fellowship was now gathered together, the sun just barely reaching over the mountain to allow some rays of light to start illuminating Rivendell and the valley, as they stood before Elrond, a gathering crowd of Elves, among them Arwen, behind him to bid farewell and luck to the Fellowship.

"The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom...On you who travel with him, no oath, nor bond is laid to go further than you will. Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves, and Men, and all Free Folk go with you." Elrond says.

"The Fellowship awaits the Ring-bearer." Gandalf says. Frodo turns around and begins walking through, the others moving aside for him as Gandalf gestures him forward through an archway, which then splits into two different paths. "Mordor Gandalf, is it left or right?" Frodo quietly asks.

"Left." Gandalf replies as the others follow behind him.

"Alright! I'm all fired up! Watch our Sauron cause the Fellowship's about to come kick your ass!" Natsu yells out into the air raising his arms.

"YEAH!" the other members of Team Natsu yelled, except for Gajeel and Lily as the rest of the Fellowship just looked back at them. Gandalf, the Hobbits, Legolas, and Gimli with smiles on their faces due to seeing them be so full of energy even with what laid ahead, Boromir though had more of a scowl on his face, finding that positive energy of theirs already annoying.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: The Ring Goes South)**_

Though Aragorn remained behind a little bit, the others unaware of this looking at someone, specifically Arwen who has a saddened look on her face. Aragorn smiles faintly and nods a farewell, turning around to follow after the others as Arwen lowers her face and looks down at the ground. The Fellowship departs Rivendell, crossing the bridge and then walking on the mountainside path away from the Elven town.

For a long time the Fellowship travels, passing by a set of old ruins on a mountain, and over open plains and hillsides. Passing over a rocky hillside between two rocks we see Gandalf in the lead followed by Legolas, Gimli with a one-sided ax held over his shoulder, followed by the four Hobbits with their horse in tow. Then are the members of Team Natsu with Erza in the lead, followed by Gray, Natsu and Happy who flies beside him, Lucy, Wendy who carries Carla in her arms, Gajeel, and Lily who walks beside him, and finally Boromir, and Aragorn in the rear of the group.

" _We must hold to this course, west of the Misty Mountains for 40 days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there our road turns east, to Mordor."_ Gandalf says.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: The Ring Goes South)**_

 _Sometime Later…_

After travelling for a few more hours, the group then stops to rest on an outstretched arm of the mountains. Sam cooks sausage and other food in a pan over a fire, putting some of that food onto a wooden plate as he then stands up and climbs up onto a rock behind him and brings the food over to Frodo who is watching as Boromir spars with Merry and Pippin, tutoring them on sword fighting as at the moment he spars with Pippin.

"Two, one, five. Good! Very good." Boromir congratulates after a successful training with Pippin on blocking. Nearby the three, Aragorn along with Erza, Happy, Gray, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Lily watch.

"Move your feet." Aragorn throws out as a suggestion as Boromir again practices with Pippin who successfully blocks all of his attacks.

"You look good Pippin." Merry compliments.

"Thanks." Pippin replies as then Boromir turns to Merry. "Faster!" he says as he begins swinging his sword at Merry who blocks them.

"For some novice swordsmen you two are doing very well." Erza says with her arms crossed as she sits on a rock. As Merry and Boromir finish Merry looks at Erza "If you'd like to lady Erza, perhaps you'd like to join us?"

"Lady...Erza?" Wendy questions, confused with her eyes closed as she holds Carla in her arms.

"I would suggest otherwise. Especially if you want to still be conscious for a while." Carla says, causing Merry and Pippin to look at each other a bit confused and frightened by the way Carla worded that.

"Really? The young lass is that strong?" Boromir questions.

"You have no idea…" Gray says with his eyes closed and lips pressed together into a straight line and sweat running down his face.

"Such is "The Great" Erza!" Happy says raising his paw up.

"The Great?" Merry and Pippin question, confused.

"What?! You, the young lady, and Gajeel were raised by Dragons?!" suddenly the voice of Gimli erupted out making everyone turn and stare.

For the others, they had been a few feet behind Sam and Frodo, Gandalf sat on a large rock, Natsu, and Lucy on a lowered rock to his right as Legolas was standing a few feet behind them on lookout. Gimli to Gandalf's left standing up with his helmet off as he was now staring towards Natsu and Lucy who were explaining to him, and Legolas who was listening in, about their magic, and once again Natsu accidentally brought up the whole foster parents to him, Wendy, and Gajeel being dragons making Lucy quickly smack him on the back of the head. While the others were sparring Boromir had asked Erza what exactly their magic was, Erza explained their magic to him, but played Natsu's off as Fire Magic, Wendy's as Sky Magic, and Gajeel's as Iron Magic, just leaving the Dragon Slayer part out, but so much for that.

"You idiot!" Lucy yelled at Natsu who was rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm sorry! I'm so used to saying how our Dragon Slaying magic came from our parents who were dragons because we never had any problem with it before!" Natsu yelled back annoyed.

"Please understand Gimli. Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel are perfectly normal...well Wendy is at least when it comes to her personality. In our world there are both good and bad dragons, the three of them were raised by good dragons who taught them Dragon Slaying magic so they could survive, they took them in at a young age when they lost their parents and raised them. They're still human, but do have some traits of dragons within them due to using Dragon Slayer magic." Lucy explains.

Gimli groans as he eyes the two mages suspiciously before then looking down at the others, Boromir having listened in as he looked at the others as well "Dragon Slayer magic? Raised by Dragons?" Boromir questions.

"Yeah. What's it to you pal, so Wendy, and Gajeel were raised by Dragons. Big deal, there's nothing different about them, they're still our friends so if you think about even harming them then you'll have to go through me." Gray says.

"As well as me." Erza states.

Legolas looks back and forth with his eyes between Gimli, and Natsu and Lucy. The tension in the air was thick, that's for sure. "I don't care if you're from another world or not. Dragon or even raised by one, you can be dangerous, there are no such thing as good dragons. Dragons have always been a problem for me and my people, they've caused hundreds if not thousands of deaths!" Gimli says in anger.

"Yeah well that's your dragons! Igneel would never do such a thing at all! Nor any of the other Dragon parents!" Natsu angrily retorts.

"It's bad enough having to work with an elf, but someone who was raised by a Dragon and taught magic to almost be **like** a dragon. That's asking for too much!" Gimli says.

"Gimli!" Gandalf yells catching his attention. "If Natsu, Wendy, or Gajeel meant us harm they would've done so already. They **are** from another world, and in that world you just have to accept the fact that there are indeed good dragons, dragons that took care, and raised three young children instead of eating them. Dragons that taught them how to survive in their world of men, as well as magic to protect themselves and help others with. You will just have to deal with this fact, no matter what. Allow them to prove themselves to you that they mean us no harm at the very least." Gandalf says.

Gimli grumbles in anger, narrowing his eyes as he looks back at Natsu "Very well, I will do that. But if you so much as try to touch me with fire, I will quickly end you without a thought." Gimli says, finally relenting.

"Same goes for me as well." Boromir says, finally easing everyone up. Suddenly Natsu found himself whacked on the head by Gandalf's staff making him yelp out in pain "You really are as dense as Erza said you are, you fool. Twice you've been told by both me and Aragorn to not say anything about your dragon parents and yet you continue to do so. If you cannot learn to keep your mouth shut about that, then allow one of the others to speak for you!" Gandalf chastises him in anger.

"Ow~! Did you seriously-" but Natsu is unable to finish as he is whacked again on the head by Gandalf's staff making him cry out in pain again. "That's for what you did at the council meeting as well. And I've already been told about all of your other bad habits, so unless you want me to continue hitting you, you'd best learn to control yourself Natsu Dragneel. Cause I will not have our lives at risk because of your stupidity!" Gandalf says.

"Hah! Serves yah right pink hair!" Gray yells at Natsu, a big grin on his and Gajeel's faces. Suddenly Gandalf looks straight towards them, making their spines tingle a bit in fear "And the same goes for the two of you, Gray Fullbuster, and Gajeel Redfox. If any of you three step out of line, I will assist Erza in punishing you severely." Gandalf states making the two of them reel back in fear.

"Honestly, are all the males this foolish in your guild?" Gandalf questions Lucy.

"You have no idea...and it's not restricted to just the guys." Lucy says embarrassed with her eyes closed. With that out of the way, the others get back to what they were doing as Gimli clears his throat "Anyways. If anyone was to ask for my opinion, which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way round. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin, Balin, would give us a royal welcome." Gimli says.

"No, I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice." Gandalf says.

Legolas walks past the group and hops onto a rock to look into the distance, far off what looks like a small dark cloud is seen as then Gandalf is the next one to notice it, then followed by Natsu as he narrows his eyes towards it. "What is it, Natsu?" Lucy asks noticing the look.

Meanwhile Boromir accidentally nicks Pippin's hand with his sword making him drop his sword "Sorry!" Boromir quickly apologizes. However Pippin all of a sudden kicks him in the shin, making him pull his left foot up and hold it as he cries out in pain and is then hit in the other leg by Merry knocking him backwards to the ground as the two Hobbits charge and tackle into him.

"Get him!" Pippin yells.

The scene causes Aragorn and the others to chuckle lightly. "For the shire!" Merry yells.

"Hold him! Hold him down Merry!" Pippin yells as Boromir is also now laughing while the hobbits continue to "attack" him. Aragorn then gets up deciding to stop this "Gentlemen, that's enough." he says putting a hand on both of their shoulders, when suddenly both of them turn around and grab his legs pulling them forward and making him fall back onto his rear. This causes Gray and Gajeel to break out into laughter while Wendy and the Exceeds just chuckle at this, Erza continues to smile as she then gets up.

"Alright you two, Aragorn's right. This needs to stop now." Erza says walking over to them. Again, like Aragorn, she puts her hands onto their shoulders, when the two make the unfortunate mistake of doing the same thing to her as they did to Aragorn, pulling her legs forward and making her fall backwards. This however has the opposite effect on the rest of the Fairy Tail mages as all of their mouths drop and their eyes widen in shock, frightened gasps and whimpers escaping from them as Merry and Pippin take notice of this, looking at them as their smiles and laughter disappear.

"What?" Merry asks.

"Did we do something wrong?" Pippin asks. The two then look at Erza who picks herself up, her eyes for some reason covered by darkness, the two look up at her as their eyes then widened in fear. A dark shadow was over her eyes as they looked down right at them in a...not too pleased...expression, her arms crossed as the two could just sense the annoyed anger aura coming off of her.

"Oh…" Erza says, her voice not to pleasing anymore. Merry and Pippin looked at each other, back up at her, and at each other again, before lunging into each other for a protective hug as they both whimpered out in fear for what was about to happen to them. Boromir who has crawled away from them, and Aragorn who has gotten back up, both go over to the others and sit/stand by their side looking at Erza looking down at the two whimpering hobbits.

"I take it, this is her scary side?" Boromir asks.

"You have no idea…" Gray says, his shirt for some reason missing as he hugged himself and shook in place with sweat running down his head.

"Erza-san can get really, really, scary if you do something that upsets her. The more it upsets her, the scarier she can get." Wendy says, also whimpering and shaking in place with her eyes closed.

"Trust me, she can be scary both during, and out of a battle…" Gajeel says, looking like he was calmer about it, but the terrified sweat going down his face said otherwise.

"Hence why we said it would be bad for her to do any "sparring" matches with them." Lily says with blank eyes.

The others however were completely unaware of what was going on, Sam and Frodo also having now been drawn to the strange cloud that was...moving quickly towards them? "What is that?" Sam asks aloud.

"Nothing, it's just a wisp of cloud." Gimli says. The others were finally beginning to notice as well, the two hobbits were in Erza's hands being held up by their shirts when she saw it and lowered them down as they looked at it as well, Boromir and the others standing up onto their feet.

"It's moving fast. Against the wind." Boromir says.

"A little too fast for some cloud." Erza says.

"And is it just me, or is that cloud made up of a lot of small ones." Happy points out, as the "cloud" got closer, everyone now noticed that it wasn't one big "cloud" but a large group of small...somethings.

"Oh yeah, since when did clouds have the sounds of flapping wings coming from them." Natsu says as he and Lucy stood up. His, Wendy, and Gajeel's enhanced hearings picking up the sounds of wings coming from the "clouds."

"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas yells.

"Hide!" Aragorn yells upon hearing this.

"Hurry!" Boromir yells.

"Frodo, take cover!" Aragorn says to the hobbit.

Everyone scrambles around, grabbing whatever items were theirs that laid out in the open as Sam puts out the fire. Natsu grabs his satchel backpack and runs under a rock for cover followed by Lucy, the two pushing themselves as far back as they can as everyone else does the same thing, hiding beneath rocks with cover over them, or in bushes. After a few tense moments have passed since everyone went into hiding, the flock of dark birds begin flying over them cawing out loudly in the air. From their hiding spots, everyone watches the birds as they fly over them, hiding in bushes were Boromir, Merry and Pippin, Legolas, Wendy and Carla, Happy and Lily, and Gray, while hiding under the outcroppings of the rocks were Aragorn and Frodo, Natsu and Lucy, Erza and Gajeel, Gandalf, and Gimli. The birds then begin to turn around in the air, circling back around the entire hill as they begin to fly back the way they came to the south.

Once they are far enough away, the Fellowship members pull themselves out from their hiding spots and watch them fly off "What was with those birds?" Lucy asks.

"Spies of Saruman. The passage south is being watched." Gandalf says.

"This Saruman guy can control birds to act as his eyes?" Gray asks.

"Why didn't you just let me roast them up? We could've had ourselves some good eats for tonight." Natsu asks.

"Because, either way, whether we annihilated them or the majority of them while a few managed to escape, Saruman would've known something was going on on that road." Gandalf answers as the Fellowship regroups around him.

"We must take the Pass of Caradhras." Gandalf says, as he and the other Middle-Earth members of the Fellowship look up at the nearby towering snowy mountain.

"Oh, it looks like Middle-Earth's version of Mt. Hakobe back home." Happy says.

"Well, at least it looks calmer than that place. Still though, time to get some winter clothes I guess." Lucy says as she brings out two of her keys, one golden, and one silver.

"Oh, Lucy-san, don't forget about me." Wendy says.

"Oh, right. Of course." Lucy says.

" **Gate of the Maiden, I open thee. Virgo."** Lucy says as then her Celestial Spirit appears before her.

"Winter clothes needed, Princess? I brought some for the young princess as well." Virgo says.

"Thank you Virgo." Lucy says as her and Wendy walk up to grab their winter clothing, Lucy's being a thick pink coat, the collar furred as well as around the hood while Wendy's was the same except light blue instead.

"Princess?" Pippin asks Natsu.

"Just a nickname Virgo gave to her. She's not really royalty." Natsu replies.

"Punishment time, princess?" Virgo asks.

"No Virgo. You can go back." Lucy calmly, but annoyingly says as Virgo does just that and disappears. While Lucy, and Wendy put the coats on, the Fellowship members were a bit confused about Virgo's question as they looked to Team Natsu for an answer.

"Virgo's a bit...weird. Always asking Lucy if she'll punish her or something. Never knew why she just does so don't ask." Gray answers.

"To put it simple all of her damn spirits are annoying and weird, except for that goat guy, he's pretty normal sort of." Gajeel says.

"Aye! There's a talking cow that's a pervert, an old friend of ours who's always hitting on her, a mermaid lady with an attitude problem, and-"

"Okay Happy! I think they get it stop embarrassing me!" Lucy angrily yells out with her coat on now.

* * *

 _The Pass of Caradhras_

The Fellowship and Team Natsu make their way up the snowy slopes of Caradhras, the cold wasn't that bad luckily as Lucy and Wendy thought but still kept their coats on nonetheless. As they climb through the snow beneath with a clear blue sky above them, Frodo loses his footing and falls, causing him to roll down the slope towards Aragorn. "Frodo!" Aragorn calls out, luckily Frodo rolls right into Aragorn who stops him and helps him up to his feet. As Frodo gets back up, he reaches inside his clothing, to find the Ring no longer around his neck, him and Aragorn look up a few feet away to see the Ring lying in the snow as then Boromir walks over to it and picks it up by the chain, bringing it up in front of his face as he looks at it. Everyone has stopped by now and is looking back, noticing that Boromir seems to be in a trance now as he looks at the Ring "Boromir." Aragorn says.

"...It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt...over so small a thing...Such a little thing." Boromir says completely ignoring Aragorn, his face seems saddened a bit as he looks at the Ring, suddenly lifting up his other hand to touch it.

"Boromir!" Aragorn calls out again, this time knocking him out of it as he looks down at him.

"Give the Ring to Frodo." Aragorn calmly says. Natsu narrows his eyes, his hands clenching into fists, ready to do something in case something happened, he wasn't liking what he was seeing. Finally after a few seconds Boromir walked down the mountain and held the Ring out for Frodo to take it "As you wish." he says. Frodo quickly takes it from him without hesitation "I care not." Boromir says, ruffling Frodo's hair around a bit before turning around and continuing back up the mountain. Natsu eases up and releases his fists, also noticing how Aragorn had his hand on the hilt of his sword as he also pulls it away.

 _Some Time Later…_

"So much for this place not being like Mt. Hakobe!" Lucy yells out. Night had fallen as the Fellowship and Team Natsu made their way through a narrow ledge along the Pass, unfortunately a snowstorm had now appeared making their trek on the ledge a bit more difficult and dangerous. Gandalf still lead the way, driving his staff through the snow to make a path for the others behind him to follow through, Legolas somehow standing atop the pile of snow that covered the path without sinking into it at the rear. Lucy and Wendy both had their hoods up and their hands covered with gloves, but were still feeling the effects of the cold making them shiver a bit, Natsu had no problem with his unnatural body heat due to his magic, Gray also had no problem even when half-naked due to being an ice mage, and Erza and Gajeel just didn't even seem to be affected by it at all. Happy and Lily hung onto their respective Dragon Slayer partner's clothing due to the high winds making them unable to fly while Carla was as always being carried by Wendy.

"Better watch where you step Lucy! That first step's a doozy!" Happy calls back in a humorous tone.

"Shut it you stupid cat!" Lucy angrily yells back.

Legolas began to walk past the others, it was then seen that Aragorn was carrying Frodo, Boromir was carrying Merry and Pippin, while Sam said he was fine and continued to drag their horse along. Arriving ahead of the others, he stares out into the blinding snowstorm, he could just barely hear was sounded like a voice among the blowing wind, a deep, and cruel sounding voice.

"There is a fell voice on the air." Legolas reports.

"Say what?" Gray asks.

"He's right, I can hear it." Wendy says.

"Yeah, same here." Gajeel also says.

"It's saying something, but I don't know what it is, it sounds like another language or something." Natsu says.

A few seconds go by, eventually everyone can now hear it. "IT'S SARUMAN!" Gandalf suddenly yells out.

All of a sudden, the group hears something breaking above them and all look up to see a horde of rock slabs and boulders falling from the mountain's arms down towards them. "Incoming!" Erza yells out as quickly everyone pushes themselves against the wall of the mountain to dodge the falling rocks.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back!" Aragorn yells.

"No!" Gandalf yells back, determined to continue their way through the mountain as he had a feeling that trying to force them back was what he was trying to do. "If what I saw on the map was true, this guy's place is so far away from here! How is it we can hear his voice all the way up here and how's he doing it?" Lucy questions in panic.

"He must be very powerful in order to be doing something like this." Erza says.

"Yeah, well if that's the case, then I bet old man Gandalf right here is just as powerful." Gray says, hoping that he was right. Gandalf steps up out of the snow onto the ledge and begins yelling out, chanting what the mages think is possibly a counter spell or something that can hopefully stop this Saruman guy from whatever he was doing, in fact they wondered if he was responsible for this snowstorm appearing out of nowhere in the first place, making them hope that Gandalf could also stop that. " _Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith! (Sleep, Caradhras, be still, lie still, hold your wrath!)"_

Unfortunately however, Gandalf's voice, while echoing out, seems to be drowned out by a more terrible cry in the maelstrom, Saruman's… _"Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; Nai yarvaxea rasselya; taltuva notto-carinnar! (Wake up cruel Redhorn! May your bloodstained horn fall upon enemy heads!"_

"Doesn't sound like he's winning!" Natsu says.

Suddenly a lightning bolt strikes the tip of the mountain above them, this time causing a massive avalanche as a massive amount of sheer white snow begins to fall down towards the Fellowship and Team Natsu. "Shit!" Gajeel yells out.

Gray attempts to quickly cast his Ice Make Shield spell, but is too late, Legolas quickly acts and pulls Gandalf back away from the ledge so he isn't sent falling over it. "Lucy! Wendy!" Natsu yells as he quickly acts, turning around and grabbing the two into his arms and putting his body over theirs as the snow begins crashing down on top of him and everyone else, burying all of them under a deep and massive pile of snow. For a few moments, nothing but the high winds of the blizzard are heard. Finally, one by one everyone begins popping and pulling themselves out of the snow. Erza's hand reaches out as she pulls herself out of the snow, Gray, Lily, and Gajeel pop their heads out from the snow and shake their heads to clear themselves, Natsu bursts out with Happy still on him, and Lucy and Wendy in his arms and Carla in Wendy's. "We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan, and take the west road to my city!" Boromir yells.

"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn says.

"Yeah! Well let me at the bastard Saruman! I'll teach him a thing or two about bringing a damn mountain down on me!" Gajeel says in anger.

"The last thing we need to do is bring the Ring close to the enemy hands you moron!" Gray says to him.

"We cannot pass over a mountain. Let us go under it. Let us go through the Mines of Moria." Gimli says once again. Gandalf doesn't say a thing, he just looks back at everyone, his eyes though say that he seems to know something, something dangerous about the place that he is not telling the others.

"Lucy, Wendy, you okay?" Natsu asks.

"Carla?" Happy asks.

"I'm alright Happy. It's Wendy I'm worried about." Carla says.

"So, c-c-c-cold…" Wendy says shivering like crazy, both her and Lucy that is as they were both extremely pale, their teeth chattering away like crazy.

"I...really...d-d-d-do hate, mountains and snowstorms." Lucy says as she shivers. Natsu suddenly releases his hold on Lucy, making her look up at him as to her surprise she sees him unwind his precious scarf around his neck, then suddenly putting it and wrapping it around her much to her shock as he puts his arm back around her.

"Let the Ring-bearer decide." Gandalf says after his long deep thought, making Frodo look at him in shock.

"Let's see if that'll help a bit. I'll try to heat the both of you up as well." Natsu says increasing the heat of his body a bit using his magic, both Lucy and Wendy could feel the heat radiating off him, making them feel a little bit better.

"How's that?" Natsu asks.

"A bit better, Natsu-san." Wendy says, she was at least no longer shivering and her teeth chattering, a bit pale still but it would most likely go away as soon as they got out of the snow and he heated them up a bit more.

"Yeah, thanks, Natsu." Lucy says, she too was feeling better already, but would probably be even better once they got out of the snow.

"We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the Hobbits!" Boromir yells, sure enough like Lucy and Wendy, the hobbits too were beginning to look pale and cold as well.

"Frodo?" Gandalf asks again. After a few seconds, Frodo quickly decides "We will go through the mines."

"...So be it…" Gandalf says.

It took some time, but eventually the group finally got off the snowy mountain and escaped the blizzard. Natsu carried Wendy and continued to keep Lucy close to him so that he could continue to heat up their body temperatures until they were finally no longer cold and back to normal, their skin no longer pale. "Thank you, Natsu-san." Wendy says as Natsu puts her down.

The temperature was also back to normal where they were, making Wendy and Lucy no longer need their coats as Lucy quickly summoned Virgo and had her take them back to the Spirit World while the others continued on ahead. Wendy quickly ran to catch up to them while Lucy then unwrapped Natsu's scarf and gave it back to him.

"Thanks for your scarf by the way, Natsu. You've...never really done that before you know. Why now? I thought you'd never allow anyone else to wear your scarf no matter what?" Lucy asks, a tint of pink blush on her cheeks as Natsu wrapped his scarf back a round.

"Those previous times on Mt. Hakobe were nothing, you looked like you could handle the cold there just fine. This time though, it was a lot more serious. Thought giving you my scarf and using my magic at the same time to heat you up would help out more, too bad I didn't have another one for Wendy but, looks like luckily things ended well for the both of you in the end." Natsu says.

"Well we have our favorite Fire Dragon Slayer to thank for that now don't we." Lucy says with a wink making Natsu laugh a bit. "We should probably go catch up with the others." Natsu says as Lucy nods her head in agreement and the two run off.

Gimli gasps suddenly as the group arrive at the top of a pathway "The Walls...of Moria."

The Fellowship and Team Natsu stand and looks upon a vast cliff face, sheer and brooding, rising above and before them, away into the mists, a massive lake also before them. The members of Team Natsu are a bit confused, tilting their heads sideways and saying "Eh?"

"But, all I'm seeing is just the wall of the cliff." Wendy says.

"That's because that wall is indeed, the walls of Moria, little miss Wendy. We Dwarves build our homes inside the mountains, deep, deep, underground." Gimli answers as the Fellowship begins to make their way around the lake.

"So~ where's the door at?" Gray asks.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Gimli replies, stopping as he then taps his ax against a wall before continuing on when it seems he didn't find what he was looking for, which is most likely the door.

"Is that so? Very interesting." Erza says becoming intrigued by such a thing.

"Yes it is Erza, however Gimli, their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten." Gandalf says.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas says, making Gimli grumble but doesn't say anything.

"So we're trying to find a door that's pretty much going to be impossible to find because it literally blends right in with this whole damn mountain wall. Sounds to me like we need to start busting this whole thing up." Gajeel says with a grin.

"You will do no such thing Gajeel and if you do you will regret it!" Gandalf angrily says turning around to look at him before getting back to tapping his staff against the wall. Making Gajeel grumble as well but like Gimli doesn't say anything. "Is there any other way to find this door more easily?" Lucy asks.

"Yes there is. And it won't be long now until you see it." Gandalf replies.

Frodo accidentally steps his right foot into the water, he quickly reals it back up out of it and looks out at the lake, there were dead branches sticking out from the water, moss hanging from them giving the lake a bit of a creepy look to it. Gandalf approached a part of the wall which was between two twisted, gnarled trees and wiped away at it with his hand "Well, let's see." Gandalf says, now closely examining the wall for some reason making everyone stop.

"Ithildin...It mirrors only starlight and moonlight." Gandalf says, running his hand over what looks like some carvings on the wall, then stepping aside and looking up at the cloudy night sky. The clouds then moved out of view revealing a full moon. Suddenly the wall begins to glow in bright, silver light, the light outlining a door formed of two columns beneath an arch with a star in the center. Writing in a strange language appears in the arch as Gimli stares in awe at the gate, the Fairy Tail mages to even stared at the doorway with awe having of never seen anything like this before. Gandalf begins to explain the writing on the doorway as he points at it with his staff.

"It reads, "The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter."" Gandalf says.

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asks.

"Oh it's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open." Gandalf answers as he places the end of his staff against the star of the door and begins to chant something. _"Annon Edhellen, edro hi ammen! (Gate of the Elves, open now for me!)"_

However the door remains closed…

Everyone looks at it, wondering if something was supposed to happen now or if literally something went wrong and the door wasn't going to open. Gandalf himself is even confused by it as he tries it again, raising his arms up into the air _"Fennas Nogothrim, lasto beth lammen. (Doorway of the Dwarf-folk, listen to the word of my tongue.)"_

Still, nothing happens making Gandalf grunt in displeasure and lower his arms. "Nothing's happening." Pippin points out the obvious. Gandalf walks up to the door and begins pushing it, seeing if that would work, but it doesn't move an inch. "I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves, Men, and Orcs." Gandalf says.

"What are you going to do then?" Pippin asks.

"Knock your head against these doors Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words." Gandalf replies back in anger and annoyance.

"Well, we could always try Plan D." Natsu says.

"What's Plan D?" Merry asks.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Carla says with her paws to her hips and eyes closed.

"Destruction." Natsu says lighting his right fist on fire. "Oh, I like the sound of that." Gajeel says transforming his right arm into an iron club.

"Erza." Gandalf says, and just like that Erza punched the both of them into the ground with her eyes closed. "Morons." Gray says.

* * *

With nothing else to do the Fellowship and Team Natsu stand/sit around while Gandalf continues chanting away at the door, though his voice grows weary from having to repeatedly try as many things as he could think of that should/could open the door. Natsu has a pout on his face and his arms crossed as he sits on a rock beside Lucy who looks bored as she leans forward and has her fists up holding her face up. Aragorn meanwhile is unhitching the horse they had brought with them, Sam helping him out while Happy hovers above them. "The Mines are no place for a pony. Even one so brave as Bill." Aragorn says.

"Bye-bye Bill." Sam sadly says.

After getting everything off, Aragorn begins to gently push him around to send him on his way "Go on Bill, go on." Aragorn says.

"Bye-bye Bill. Be safe on your way back home." Happy says, also saddened.

"Don't worry Sam, Happy, he knows the way home." Aragorn says to the two as they watch him slowly walk off into the night.

Merry and Pippin sit on some rocks at the edge of the lake, Merry picks up and throws a rock into the lake causing it to make a slightly loud splash as he does it again. Pippin is about to join in when Aragorn's hand suddenly grabs his to stop him "Do not disturb the water." Aragorn warns, there was something about it he didn't like.

"Oh it's useless." Gandalf says finally giving up as he throws his staff aside to the ground after turning away from the door. He grabs the hilt of his sword and sits down on a rock beside Frodo after pulling his hat off. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Boromir, and Erza watch as they take notice of a ripple that runs through the water, even though the two Hobbits haven't thrown in anything since they were stopped, and even then, the ripple was a bit too rough to be from a small rock.

Frodo looks up at the door, getting up from the rock he was sitting on and walking up towards the door "it's a riddle." Frodo says.

Suddenly most of the others take notice of a big ripple in the water coming ominously in their direction, as if something was in the water moving towards them making some of them tense up. But with the way the water looked, it didn't look like any kind of sea creature could live in there, and if there was, they shouldn't be big enough to cause whatever caused that big ripple. ""Speak 'friend,' and enter." What's the Elvish word for "friend?"" Frodo asks Gandalf.

" _Mellon."_ Gandalf answers.

Suddenly the door begins rumbling slightly, signaling to everyone that it had worked as the door now opened up wide for them to enter. With the door now open, the ones watching the water decide to turn their attention away so that they can enter the safety of the Mine, the others who weren't watching and were just sitting around get up as the Fellowship and Team Natsu finally walks into, the Mines of Moria.

"About damn time." Natsu quietly mumbles with his hands behind his head.

As Carla walks a bit behind Wendy, she suddenly stops in her tracks as she gasps quietly and her eyes widened, she was having a vision. In the vision, _she saw the Fellowship walking through a grandiose hall of stone lined with tall pillars and arched ceilings as far as the eye can see. Followed by what sounded like deep drums echoing as she saw everyone in a small room now facing the same direction, looking like they were waiting to fight something or someone as Aragorn and Legolas had their bows out and arrows pulled back, Boromir with his sword and shield at the ready, Gimli standing on something his two of his ax's at the ready, Gandalf with his staff and sword and the Hobbits with their swords at the ready. Natsu had his fists on fire, Lucy had her whip the Fleuve d'etoiles out, Gray had his hands together, Erza held two swords at the ready, Gajeel both of his arms transformed into Iron Swords, Wendy was also in a fighting stance at the ready with the three Exceeds hovering above her. She then saw the Fellowship running down a flight of stairs, then followed by some kind of dark mass with fire burning from it roaring out and finally, what looked like a shadowy figure of someone falling into darkness._

Carla had sweat running down her face when she returned to reality, realizing what she had just saw as she quickly shook her head, none of the others noticing it luckily as she continued walking after them. This wasn't good, if what she saw was true, then one of them wasn't going to be making it out of here, she knew she had to tell Gandalf about this, maybe he had the power to prevent whoever it was from dying. But she couldn't blurt it out, it would frighten Wendy and the Hobbits, and also make everyone on edge which could complicate things even more, if this vision was showing them the mines which was most likely the case, well what else was there to do? They had to go through the mines, there was no other choice with Saruman and his spies out there watching the mountains, she just had to hope that Gandalf was powerful enough to help her prevent the vision from coming true.

"Soon Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone!" Gimli says.

"Ah~ stop talking, all of that sounds so delicious right now!" Natsu complains with drool coming out the left side of his mouth.

Gandalf brings his hand around his staff, blowing upon the crystal that's in it as it begins to glow faintly at first before brightening up a bit more to illuminate the place more. "Don't suppose you dwarves have good tasting fish as well?" Happy asks.

"Indeed there are some mighty fine fish Happy. The best that we dwarves catch." Gimli replies as Gandalf leans the staff towards the dark halls ahead, showing broken stairs and columns, upon which are tumbled many dark forms. Natsu decides to help out as he lights up and raises his right fist into the air.

"This, my friends, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!" Gimli says.

As everyone stops in their tracks and looks around, they then take notice of the dark forms, and what they really are as Boromir speaks out "This is no mine. It's a tomb."

The dark forms are revealed to be rotten, broken, and battered skeletal dwarf remains, all of them looking like they had died from a battle as they wield weapons in their hands and have armor on. The four hobbits look down and jump back a bit in fright upon noticing a corpse right at their feet, Lucy turns her head to her left, to come face to a face with a dwarf skeleton pinned against the wall by some arrows, making her cry out in fear as she jumps back away from it, Natsu moving in front of her in a protective manner. Wendy stares wide-eyed in terror at the scene with her hands to her mouth, Gajeel however quickly acts and covers her eyes with his left hand held back, knowing this was not something someone as young as her should be seeing.

"No…" Gimli says in shock and disbelief, jumping over to one dwarf skeleton and kneeling down beside it. He couldn't believe what he was seeing as he then cried out in pain at seeing his kin like this "No~!"

"W-What happened?!" Happy questions as the three Exceeds group together with terrified looks on their faces.

"A battle?" Gray questions.

"Yeah, one from a really long time ago if these guys are already skeletons." Gajeel says.

"But why are we only seeing dwarf skeletons? Where are the enemies remains?" Erza questions.

Legolas suddenly pulls an arrow out from one of the corpses and looks at the arrowhead, his eyes widening as if he knew who or what used these types of arrowheads "Goblins." he says. Throwing the arrow aside as he got his bow and first arrow ready, while Aragorn and Boromir got their swords ready, Erza requipped a sword into her hand as Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel stood ready for battle while Lucy stood next to Wendy, the two close to the hobbits and behind the others, as she had her whip out in her right hand, and her left hand ready to grab one of her keys should they need help.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here." Boromir says. The hobbits were already backing up their way through the doorway, Pippin almost slipping as he backed up. Unknown to them and everyone else however, something was watching them from the water "Now get out of here, Get out!" Boromir yelled out, his voice echoing out through the doorway.

As the hobbits reach the entrance, Frodo finds himself pulled off his feet and falls forward to the ground, turning around to find a long, snaking tentacle grabbing at his right foot. "Frodo!" the three Hobbits begin to repeatedly yell in panic as Frodo yells "Help!"

Merry and Pippin quickly rush and grab ahold of him as Sam looks back "Strider!" he yells catching everyone else's attention.

"Help!" Frodo cries out again as Sam rushes past him with his sword out and attempts to cut the tentacle, his blade however not sharp enough to do so, "Get of him!" Sam yells as after striking it a few times it does cause the tentacle to release Frodo and retract back into the lake. "Aragorn!" Sam yells as the others arrive at the doorway.

Lucy and Wendy rush out to help Merry and Pippin pull Frodo back away from the water, everyone stops and looks at the water as they see the tentacle go back into the lake. Suddenly more tentacles shoot out from the lake, hitting the other three hobbits as well as Lucy and Wendy back to the ground as one of them then wraps around Frodo's feet and pulls him up into the air as he cries out in terror again, now being waved around above the water. As Lucy recovers, suddenly she finds one of the tentacles wrapping around her feet as well, acting quickly she grabs ahold of the opened door as the tentacle then tries to pull her away as well, forcing Lucy to hold onto the door as tight as possible as she quickly cries out for help "NATSU!"

"Lucy!" Natsu yells out as he rushes past the others. Just as Lucy loses her grip on the slippery stone, Natsu reaches out and grabs ahold of her right hand and manages to pull her back, wrapping his left arm around her waist as he then moves himself and reaches out to the tentacle grabbing her feet. Grabbing it and immediately lighting his fist on fire burning the tentacle off of her as it retreats.

"Lucy, you alright?" Natsu quickly asks as her feet drop to the ground, releasing his hold on her and moving her behind him for protection in case the thing tried reaching for her

"Frodo!" Merry yells as he and the others also recover. Legolas appears with his arrow pulled back on his bow and fires, piercing a three-pronged tentacle that was attempting to wrap itself over Frodo's face as he cries out again "STRIDER!"

" **Requip!"** Erza yells, changing into her Sea Empress Armor.

" **Ice Make Sword!"** Gray yells creating a sword made of ice in his right hand.

" **Sword of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells transforming his right arm into an iron sword.

The three, along with Aragorn, and Boromir charge out into the water and begin slicing away at the tentacles. "Lucy summon Aquarius!" Happy says.

"Yeah right! She'd blast away the creature **and** Frodo along with it!" Lucy says.

"Just let me at that thing so I can fry it up!" Natsu says in anger keeping his fists alight in flames.

Erza swings her sword cutting another tentacle off, turning in time to cut off another one that comes at her, Gray swings his Ice sword around cutting tentacle after tentacle off the creature, Gajeel the same as he swings his sword like crazy. Frodo continues to be flung around in the air by the tentacle holding him crying out in pain as then suddenly, the main body of the creature finally surfaces. A strange kraken like monster that then hovers Frodo over it, suddenly revealing its mouth which it then opens up as it prepares to eat him. Boromir cuts another tentacle off the creature, as the others continue to cut away at what is almost like an endless army of tentacles, the creature seems to be obviously distracted by this as it roars out in pain, causing Frodo to be swung violently around in the air.

Aragorn cuts another tentacle, which proves to be the one holding up Frodo as he is released and falls into Boromir's arms. "Into the mines!" Gandalf yells. Quickly and without question the others comply as they begin to make their way out of the water, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel quickly walking backwards while swinging their swords around to get rid of the tentacles that reach for them while Aragorn and Boromir just turn around and start running.

"Legolas!" Boromir yells out as the monster begins to give chase after them, reaching for Aragorn this time "Into the cave!" Aragorn yells.

Legolas pulls another arrow out of his quiver and pulls it back on his bow, releasing it into the creature's right eye, causing it to roar out in pain and real back a bit into the water. "Run!" Aragorn yells.

Natsu however is undeterred as Lucy turns and begins running back into the mine "Like hell I am! **Roar of the-"** however one of the tentacles slam right into his chest, sending him flying back into the mine as Lucy just happens to turn around in time to see him flying towards her and manages to catch him in her arms though knocking her back and to the ground.

All of a sudden the creature brings itself out of the water using its tentacles as support on the land somehow as it begins reaching for everyone with its other tentacles "That thing can walk on land too?!" Gray yells out in shock.

"We have no choice, Gajeel!" Erza yells.

Gajeel turns around with a gleeful grin on his face "Gihi, alright! **Roar of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells as he puffs up his face and sends his iron breath attack out from his mouth. The massive blast not only hits and blasts away the massive creature, but also destroys the ceiling of the passage, causing it to crumble down to the ground as soon they begin piling up and blocking the passage and doorway. Natsu and Lucy manage to get back up to their feet in time as they along with everyone else stares in shock as their way out of the mine begins to disappear, the debris continues to fall until eventually the doorway is blocked up and thus blocks the light from entering the room, casting it into darkness..

"I'm sorry Gandalf. It was either that or-"

"No, do not worry Erza. I had a feeling we were going to get trapped in here either way. The creature was about to do the same thing had Gajeel not done it and at the same time blasted it away." Gandalf says, letting out a sigh as he then says "We now have but one choice." he then taps his staff a few times, lighting up his crystal brightly as then Natsu lights up a ball of fire in the palm of his right hand as well.

"We must face the long dark of Moria."

* * *

 **Q &A…**

 **ItsDaKoolaidDude:** Why would I not be serious about this and make it a one-shot that ends on a cliffhanger?

 **Shiun'in Ventus:** This is Team Natsu BEFORE the 1 Year Timeskip, before their encounter with Tartaros as I said in the first chapter, it takes place at least a month after the Grand Magic Games.

 **Warmachine375:**...Oh my gosh...oh...oh my gosh dude you're expecting a lot from this story XD. Okay...this is going to take a while. All I can say is, I will try to the best of my ability to make this the great story you want, so obviously I need to answer all of the things you said so you know what to expect and whatnot. Sorry if this doesn't turn out as great as you want. So...here I go.

Clothes: Well, okay...I understand what you're going at. It is true how dark and gritty like the clothes of the LoTR universe are compared to the colorful world of Fairy Tail. Here's the problem with this though. Where exactly are Lucy and them going to get clothes? Erza's always going to be in her armor, so this would bring up the men of this world who think that women shouldn't fight in battle, which I can see Erza easily correcting and maybe even inspiring and helping Eowyn out later on. But then Lucy and Wendy, what about them? Last I checked, I don't think Middle-Earth has stores for them to go inside and buy clothes for themselves so, that's out. And if you think that Virgo could bring them clothes from the Spirit World, then that's out also as the clothes from the Spirit World are also bright and, well, "stand out". So basically, where exactly are they going to get clothing?

The Council: I didn't say they did. Gandalf simply told them, then I had Natsu quickly allow Frodo to say what he wanted to. I never said the others believed them, the council members are probably still skeptical about it, as for Boromir and the others, yeah, they'll be skeptical at first but as time goes on they'll believe them since, well they're adventuring with them and whatnot so. Yeah.

Dragons: Well, I hope I did well in making it how it would play out in this chapter. Cause yeah, I feel Natsu being who he is would let it slip cause, well, as I said he's used to it. You can expect there to be some tensions for a while, but they'll disappear eventually.

Magic: Well, Lucy, and Wendy we don't have to worry about since they actually think before they act. Natsu and the others...yeah...Well, Erza would probably also do the same, understand Gandalf and hold back as well. But the guys, yeah they will need to be watched to make sure they don't go all out as they're used to.

Death, Destruction, Betrayal: Okay, yeah, I knew this was going to come up. Of course stuff like this is going to change them. Especially someone as young as Wendy. By the time they return home, they're going to be different.

Killing?: Okay, here's the thing now. In Fairy Tail, it's shown that they never kill humans, that is true. But monsters, that's a different story. First time we see Erza come back, she has a horn of a monster she SLAYED. Technically Natsu, Gray, and Erza killed Lullaby, Sun Village Arc, we got that flying Cyclops Monster thing, never is it seen again after Natsu finishes it off with a powerful attack. Here's the difference, they would never kill a living person. But if it's a creature/monster, then you can bet they'll kill it because it's a monster trying to hurt people, specifically their friends. So Erza, Gajeel, and Gray, I can see them slicing/stabbing Orcs, Goblins and whatnot no problem, because they are MONSTERS. Natsu, he ain't going to hold back and will punch them hard where they probably ain't going to be getting back up or burn them up. Lucy and Wendy, well yeah cause Lucy has a whip, and Wendy just, well yeah you can't expect her to do it. And I'm sure Lucy's spirits wouldn't have trouble killing (again) MONSTERS. That's the way I see things. In Fairy Tail, Team Natsu never kills people, only monsters. Sauron's minions, are ALL monsters...except for the Haradrim and Rhun soldiers, I'll have to think of that later on.

The One Ring: Okay, well as long as they don't look at the Ring for too long they should be fine. Cause after Amon Hen it's not like they're going to be with Frodo and Sam. Seriously, having just one of the Fairy Tail mages with them could change things drastically on their part of the journey which is why Natsu or none of them are going with them...

With the Balrog part coming up, you'll have to wait and see how it turns out. Don't want to spoil anything for the others.


	4. Sacrifice in Moria

"We must face the long dark of Moria." Gandalf says as he begins walking forward past the others. "Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs...in the deep places of the world." Gandalf warns as everyone begins following behind him but now on full alert as Erza, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas have their weapons out and at the ready. It was still unknown whether or not the goblins that slayed all of the dwarves were still around, but they weren't going to take any chances.

"Quietly now. It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."

Time passes...The Fellowship enters a great cavern with a serpentine walkway running down through the middle; the path is rough-hewn and narrow, rocky arches and boulder-like lumps appear in the half-light of the caverns. Eventually when they notice that there appear to be no goblins everyone eases up a bit as Erza calls off her sword and Aragorn and Boromir sheath their swords. Crossing a path past a dark stony doorway, the Fellowship comes to a narrow, curving stairway as ladders and iron chains rise from a dark pit to their right and on their left, rock walls as high as the eye can see. Chains that hang slowly blow around from what little wind is somehow in the mine making light noises that quietly reverberate throughout. As they continue, Gandalf rests his hand upon a rock with what looks like dark, silvery veins running through it.

"The wealth of Moria was not in gold...or jewels...but mithril." Gandalf explains to the group. Leaning his staff out a bit over the edge to illuminate the vast, seemingly endless rock wall drop into the depths below. Row upon row of ladders and scaffolding, old and disused; disappear into the mining shafts below. The lighting also showed the awed looks of the Fellowship and Fairy Tail members' faces, Merry leaned forward slightly to look closer but Pippin puts a warning hand in front of him to prevent him from leaning to far that he might fall. Frodo stares down until the light fades, the vision of a forgotten realm gone.

"Mithril?" Lily questions, the Fairy Tail mages having of never heard such a thing since such a thing did not exist back in their world.

"It's supposedly the most rarest and precious silver metal in all of Middle-Earth. It could even be made into a chainmail like armor due to how lightweight it is, and supposedly it's very strong as well." Lucy explains having of read up on it back in Rivendell.

"That is correct Miss Heartfilia. Speaking of which, Bilbo had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him." Gandalf says as he continues on with the others following.

"Oh, that was a kingly gift." Gimli says.

"Yes! I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the Shire." Gandalf says.

"Eh? Really? But the Shire is an entire land in of itself, home to the hobbits!" Lucy says in shock hearing this.

"Seriously? It's worth an entire land to a race of people? This shit's gotta be rare in that case to be that costly." Gajeel says.

"Hey, maybe if we brought some of this mithril back with us you'd be able to actually buy your whole apartment from your landlady Lucy." Natsu says back to her.

"Hm~, that would be nice not to have to worry about paying rent every month ever again. And considering it'd be the only one in existence in our world she would see it as being worth a lot." Lucy says.

"Yes well, good luck finding a large abundance that would actually mean something. It is as you said Mithril is extremely rare nowadays. We would need to delve deeper into the mines to actually find it. Which we don't have the time for." Gandalf says.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu soon find themselves climbing up steep steps on the side of a cavern with many rows of tombs, carefully they make their way up, the Exceeds circling around behind them just in case. Pippin loses his footing and slips onto Merry who quickly stops him from falling back.

"Pippin." Merry says quietly.

They climbs another flight of stairs, eventually arriving to a crossroad in the mine. Three doorways loom before them. Gandalf holds out his staff and glances from one to the other and back. His eyes slowly turn towards the left hand passage. "I have no memory of this place." He whispers, it appeared he didn't know which way to go.

* * *

Unfortunately since they weren't familiar with the place, the Dragon Slayers noses proved no help in the situation, forcing everyone to once again wait on Gandalf as he tried to remember which passage it was that would take them out of there. Time was precious, the last thing they needed to do was get lost, and if there were still goblins in the mines, the last thing they wanted to do was run into the cavern where they all slept or something worse. Everyone is sitting below a peak of rough stone, the same one that Gandalf sits on before the three doors as he tries to think of which door is the right one to take.

"Are we lost?" Pippin quietly asks Merry.

"No." Merry replies.

"I think we are." Pippin says.

"Shhh! Gandalf's thinking." Sam says.

"Merry?" Pippin calls.

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

Natsu begins sniffing the air, catching the whiff of something...that did not smell pleasant at all. Making him cringe his face in disgust and pinch his nose with his index finger and thumb. "What the hell? Hey, ice head, did you rip ass or something?" Natsu asks as he turns and looks back at Gray in a nasal voice. Gray turns around and looks at him "Huh? What the hell are you talking about? I didn't do shit." Gray replies "And wait, why are you covering your nose?" he asks.

Suddenly both Gajeel and Wendy begin sniffing the air as well, both of them cringe and cover their noses "What the?" Gajeel questions.

"What's that horrible stench?" Wendy wonders.

"What's wrong with them?" Sam asks Lucy.

"Their dragon enhanced smelling senses must've picked up something bad in here." Lucy says.

"What does it smell like?" Pippin asks.

"Whatever it is smells like rotten, well everything! Like whatever it is hasn't taken a shower in years!" Natsu says while still covering his nose.

"In a place like this, that could be a number of things." Aragorn says.

While the others were talking among each other, Carla quietly made her way up the steps and towards Gandalf. Gandalf opened his eyes and looked down at her "Why, hello there Carla. What brings you here?" he asks.

"Sorry to disturb you Gandalf, it's just…" Carla finds herself at a loss of words. It still terrified her of what she saw, every time she had a vision they always turned out to be true one way or another. Sure, those times they were just, very random and never really made any sense and in the end sometimes didn't turn out as bad as they appeared. But this time. It was as clear as day what she saw, and that was someone dying in this mine.

"What is wrong, Carla?" Gandalf asks, noticing the worried look on her face.

Carla takes in a deep breath "Something bad is going to happen in this mine Gandalf. Another magic ability I possess is the ability to sometimes see the future, it happens at random times and, they are usually very distorted. But in this one, I know one thing I saw and feel now." Carla says as she looks down at the ground.

Gandalf hearing this becomes concerned as he looks back down at the others to see all of them distracted in their own conversation, he turns back and leans forward "What did you see?" he asks quietly.

"...One of us isn't going to make it out of here alive...Whoever it is, is consumed by something, what looked like...shadow, and fire…" Carla says.

Gandalf leans back up taking in what she just said "Thank you for confiding this to me. Do not worry, I will do my best to make sure that whatever happens doesn't." Gandalf says. Carla nods her head and bows forward "Thank you Gandalf." she says as she walks off before the others notice her missing. Gandalf watches her walk away before turning back towards the door and closing his eyes.

As Frodo sits on a rock, he turns his head around and looks down into the cavern, suddenly spotting movement in the form of a small figure leaping from stone to stone. Startled by this he quickly gets up and rushes over to Gandalf. "There's something down there." Frodo says.

"It's Gollum." Gandalf calmly replies, as if he knew that this Gollum creature was following them.

"Gollum?" Frodo asks. He remembered that name, it was the creature that once possessed the ring for many years until Bilbo found it and took it from him. Gandalf had told him that Gollum had been captured by Sauron's forces and tortured for information on who had the Ring.

"He's been following us for three days. I bet it's his stench that our Dragon Slayer friends smell, after all in an enclosed space such as this and with their dragon senses, it was going to be sooner or later they started to pick his scent up." Gandalf says.

"He escaped the dungeons of Barad-dur?" Frodo asks.

"Escaped...or set loose." Gandalf says turning his head slowly to look at Frodo. "And now the Ring has brought him here. He will never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself." as Gandalf says that, dark, dirty fingers clasp a stone implement. From the distance below, Gollum looks up, his large, eyes piercing the darkness, observing the company.

"Sméagol's life is a sad story. Yes, Sméagol he was once called. Before the Ring found him...before it drove him mad." Gandalf says as he looks back at the doors.

"It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance!" Frodo says as he looks back down.

Gandalf looks back at Frodo "Pity?" he questions as Frodo looks back at him "It is pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?" Gandalf asks. Frodo becomes silent after hearing this, unsure of how to answer it.

"Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill…before this is over." Gandalf says as Gollum then disappears back into the darkness. "The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."

Frodo remains silent as he then sits down next to Gandalf. "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." Frodo says in a sorrowful tone.

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case you also were meant to have it. Such another example…" Gandalf says as he turns his head, Frodo follows his gaze as he finds himself looking at the members of Team Natsu.

Lucy and Wendy sit on a rock next to each other while Natsu sits on the ground in front of them, the three seem to be having a conversation about something while the two Dragon Slayers are no longer covering their noses. Gajeel seems to be napping against another rock as he leans back against it, Gray just sits on a rock close to the hobbits supporting his head up on his right hand which is held up on his elbow on his leg, Erza is standing up and leaning back on a wall with her eyes closed, and Happy and Lily seem to be talking while Carla sits by them with a worried look on her face.

"Are these mages of Fairy Tail, coming to our world in such a dark time. Here to help us to destroy the One Ring and defeat Sauron once and for all. And that, is an encouraging thought." Gandalf says finishing up. Suddenly he looks up at one of the doorways "Oh! It's that way." he speaks up.

Catching everyone's attention as they all look up at him. "He's remembered." Merry says as he gets up.

"No." Gandalf replies as he picks up his hat and staff and walks towards the doorway which leads down "But the air doesn't smell so foul down here." he says as he puts his hat on, the others coming up behind him.

"If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose. I'm sure our Dragon Slayer friends know that quite well." Gandalf says as Natsu and the others walk up, Wendy steps forward and sniffs the air. "He's right, this one doesn't smell so bad compared to the other ones. Means there has to be fresh air coming in from somewhere through this one." she says.

Everyone begins making their way down the dark stairs, before long the Fellowship comes to a more open space with some broken ornate columns lying tumbled across the floor. "Let me risk a little more light. Natsu, if you'd help out." Gandalf says as he brightens his crystal.

Natsu does so as he lifts up his left fist and engulfs it in brighter and intense flames, everyone's mouths drop a bit in awe at what they all see. "Behold...the great realm and Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf." Gandalf says as the Fellowship and Team Natsu find themselves in a grandiose hall of stone lined with tall pillars and arched ceilings as far as the eye can see.

"There's an eye opener, and no mistake." Sam says.

"It's so massive." Lucy says.

"How big is this place? Can't even see the sides or other end for miles." Gray says trying to do so but unable to.

"Hey, Natsu. Since this place is so big and so quiet, wanna see how far our echoes travel?" Happy asks Natsu.

"Do so and you will pay." Erza says appearing behind the two with a deadly aura that the two feel and shiver in fear from.

"These guys must've had a lot of time on their hands to build something this big." Gajeel says.

"Wonder how long it would've taken to build such a place. Especially inside of a mountain." Lily says.

"You'd never see anything this majestic and big back in Earthland." Wendy says.

"That's very true." Carla agrees.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu begin making their way through the massive hall, along the way Aragorn finds a lit torch and takes it as to help Gandalf light up the hallway and allow Natsu to put his out. After walking for some time, Gimli who is up front with Gandalf looks around one corner to see light coming through a broken doorway, but with skeletal dwarven remains scattered around the outside. Gimli cries out in a grunt and takes off towards the doors, alerting Gandalf and the others who wonder what he just saw "Gimli!" Gandalf calls after him.

However he doesn't listen and runs between the wooden doors that are still attached to the doorway, albeit beaten and battered up. He runs into a massive chamber, its walls and recesses are scarred and broken, bodies and weapons lay scattered about. The Dwarf stops and kneels in front of a crypt in the center of the room where a single shaft of light shines down, illumining it.

"No!" Gimli says in shock and sadness. "Oh, no." Gimli says as he lowers his head and begins to cry. "No." the rest of the Fellowship follows in after him as Gandalf walks over at the tomb and looks down on its surface. ""Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria."" he reads, translating the Dwarven lettering that was on it.

"He is dead then. It's as I feared." Gandalf says as he takes his hat off.

While the others stand around in a saddened state, Gandalf spots a massive book being held in the arms of a dwarf corpse. He gives his hat and staff to Pippin as he reaches down and carefully moves the right arm so he can take it, wiping the dust and cobwebs from the battered up book as he opens it up to the back to see its most recent, and last entry. A few pages and a lot of dust fall out from it as he opens and holds it up, blowing and wiping away some more dust.

"We must move on. We cannot linger." Legolas says, something was bothering him.

"I agree. I feel like we've overstayed our welcome here." Lily says in agreement.

""They have taken the bridge, and the second hall. We have barred the gates...but cannot hold them for long."" Gandalf begins to read, Gimli has stopped sobbing at this point as he and the others listen in to what Gandalf reads.

""The ground shakes. Drums...drums, in the deep."" As he continues reading, Pippin meanwhile is slowly backing up for some reason and looking around. Gandalf turns to the next page, which seems to be its last. ""We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark...""

The others definitely begin to feel uneasy now as he continues to read, constantly glancing around as if they expected goblins to just start popping out of nowhere and attack them. Pippin meanwhile backs himself up into what appears to be a stone well, turning around to see a bucket lay on the edge attached by chain to a dwarf corpse sitting on the well with an arrow in his chest.

""We cannot get out. They are coming."" Gandalf finishes reading as he looks up with an uncomfortable look on his face.

* * *

Out of curiosity, Pippin touches the nock of the arrow and twists it slightly. Which causes the head of the corpse to fall off into the well, hitting against the wall with a resounding crash, spooking everyone as they all whip in the direction of Pippin who whips back around as well towards Gandalf with a shocked look on his face. Just as it couldn't get any worse, it did. The corpse is next to fall into it, followed by the chain which rattles like crazy as it falls down until it reaches the other end and pulls the bucket down with it, all combined make a really, **really** loud noise which echoes from hall to hall far below. Where once was only silence, a ricocheting noise now fills every nook and cranny throughout Moria. Pippin winces at each new wave of noise until finally, silence. The Fellowship and Team Natsu do not make a sound or breathe for a moment, all of them look around, listening to see if his actions caused a stir.

"Please, please, please let us be lucky and the goblins are really heavy sleepers…" Lucy quietly says with her eyes closed and her fists up by her head in a hopeful manner.

The Dragon Slayers listen in, nothing is heard. After a few tense moments of silence, everyone lets out a low and quiet sigh of relief. Gandalf angrily slams the book while keeping his eyes on Pippin "Fool of a Took!" he then places the book on the crypt and walks over towards him "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity." Gandalf angrily says as he takes his hat and staff back.

"And while you're at it make sure to take Natsu Dragneel with you." he says.

"Eh?! What did I do?!" Natsu questions shocked by hearing this.

"He's probably thinking of all the trouble you're going to cause on the rest of this journey." Happy says flying up to him with his eyes closed and humorous smile.

 _ **BOOM…**_

Everyone freezes in place. Hoping that maybe they were just, hearing a rebounding echo from the crash. _**BOOM…**_

Nope...that sounded like a big drum beat. Gandalf looks back towards Pippin with horror in his eyes, however, this time his focus isn't on Pippin, but the well as Pippin also turns to face it as the drum is heard again, this time a few more times.

 _ **BOOM...boom...boom.**_

Strange noises besides the beating of drums begin to echo throughout the mine, almost like, screeches. And then like a heartbeat, the drums begin again this time at a rapid pace.

 _ **Boom-boom-boom-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM…**_

Terrified looks appear on everyone's faces as suddenly Natsu lights both of his fists on fire "We got company." he says.

Sam looks down at Frodo's side and notices something "Frodo." he says as Frodo looks down and pulls out his shortsword Sting. A sword that belonged to his Uncle Bilbo that glowed blue whenever Orcs were nearby, and at the moment, it was glowing blue.

The screeches began to increase in numbers and grow closer, much closer to the group "Orcs!" Legolas says. Boromir turns and rushes towards the doors to look outside, as he looks to his right, two arrows hiss and imbed themselves right into the door just a few feet in front of his face as he pulls back to look at them. "Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn says to the hobbits.

"Natsu!" Aragorn says tossing Natsu the torch as he runs to the door, Natsu catching it as he sucks the fire right up to give himself some energy and lets out a satisfied sigh.

"Alright, now I'm all fired up." Natsu says as he tosses the handle aside. He could always re-light that later on when they needed it to get out of here, but for now, it was time to fight. Gajeel picked up a one sided axe and after getting the cobwebs and dust off it, ate it quickly to also power himself up; as much as Wendy wanted to "eat" some air the air in the mines were a bit too polluted and would only weaken her so she had to do with what she had in energy at the moment.

A loud roar could be heard from outside as Aragorn runs up behind Boromir and helps him close the double-sided doors "They have a cave-troll." Boromir says in a sarcastic pleasant tone.

Legolas and Gray help toss some weapons to Aragorn and Boromir to help them barricade the door as best as they can before the four retreat, Gandalf tosses his hat aside as Gimli climbs onto Balin's tomb. Gandalf pulls out his sword with a resounding cry, ready for battle as the Hobbits also pull theirs out as Erza requips a sword into her right hand "Everyone! Stand ready!" she says.

Gimli cries out in an angered roar as he has two axes in each of his hands, both of them one-sided "Let them come. There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath." he says.

The Fellowship and Team Natsu stand ready for combat, at the front Legolas stands in the middle with his bow and arrow ready and pulled back, to his right is Aragorn with his bow and arrow out and ready as well as Erza and Gray, who had his shirt off, standing at the ready for battle. To his left stood Natsu who has his flames lit aflame and Gajeel who has transformed both of his arms into massive iron swords. Behind them, Gimli stands on top of the crypt, Gandalf to his left, to his right Boromir and Lily who has transformed into his Battle Mode with his sword out. In the rear stand the Hobbits, Lucy who has her whip out in her right hand as a stream of eerily blue celestial matter comes forth from the handle and is surrounded by orange-white light that twists around its entire length out, Wendy beside her and Happy, and Carla hovering around the two of them.

"Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, don't go all out. In an enclosed space as this using your magic at full power could end up bringing this whole place down on top of us." Erza warns.

"Tch, no problem. All I need is a good punch and these guys ain't going to be getting up anymore." Natsu says with a toothy-grin as he was ready for some action. Since they weren't dealing with humans, there was no need to hold back with his strength, and he had a feeling these things weren't as durable as the kinds of enemies back home so a good punch from him and they weren't going to be getting back up.

On the other side of the door the Goblins begin pounding on it, trying to break through, it is not long till weapons start breaking through the already weakened wooden door, creating a clear gap in it as Legolas shoots and a shrill cry rings out. Legolas pulls out another arrow and pulls it back on his bow as Aragorn shoots another goblin through the gap in the door. Suddenly, the Goblins break the door down and charge in towards the Fellowship and Team Natsu. Legolas releases his next arrow taking down another Goblin, Aragorn fires hitting another Goblin in its chest as it stops and cries out in pain, another Goblin jumps and spins around in the air as Legolas releases sending the arrow right into its forehead.

"Come and get some!" Natsu yells out at the same time as Gimli roars with a battle cry and the fight begins, everyone at the front charges in while Legolas moves firing arrow after arrow. Aragorn quickly puts away his bow and draws his sword as a Goblin jumps at him managing to cut across the goblins stomach. Boromir charges forward blocking a goblin with his shield and then stabbing the goblin as a few more Goblins charge him, blocking another Goblins attack and swinging his sword down on it to finish it off.

" **Ice Make Battle Axe!"** Gray yells as he swings his right arm outwards in an arc, creating an axe of ice that slams into a few goblins in front of him sending them flying into the walls. Erza launches herself forward and in a flash slices her way through three goblins in front of her who fall forward to the ground, Gajeel with both of his arms transformed into Iron Swords begins slicing his way through the attacking goblins in front of him with ease. **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu cries out as he slams both of his fire coated fists into the faces of two goblins sending them flying back into the wall head first with such power that cracks are formed upon impact.

One goblin charges at Gimli on the crypt and is quickly struck down by one of his axes, Lily blocks a Goblin's sword and pushes it back before bringing his sword down and cutting the creature. With a yell, Gandalf launches himself into the fray, with the Hobbits following in suite.

"Let's go Lucy-san!" Wendy says with determination as she and Lucy also let out battle cries and charge forward.

Frodo ducks underneath a sword, Pippin stabs one goblin and prepares himself to face another as Merry to his right stabs one multiple times, Sam drives his sword right through one goblin. Lucy swings her whip striking one goblin away, turning around in time to cry out as she ducks underneath another goblin's sword **"Lucy Kick!"** she yells throwing her right leg upwards into the creature's chin sending it flying up into the air and back to the ground. **"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"** Wendy yells out as she cloaks her right hand in a whirlwind and launches herself forward through a group of goblins, striking all of them with her fingertips and leaving behind a trail of wind as they all cry out and go down.

Legolas fires another arrow taking down another goblin, as Aragorn strikes another goblin down he lets out an angered battle cry as another goblin roars at him, earning a swift decapitation from it as black blood spurts out from where the head use to be. As everyone fights below Happy and Carla fly up in the air to avoid the fight, though that doesn't stop some goblins from tossing their weapons up at them in an attempt to hit them, forcing Happy and Carla to dodge with a few close calls. Erza blocks a sword and pushes the attacking goblin back in time to duck underneath another goblin's sword as she slashes it across its stomach. Natsu slams his fist down onto the back of a goblin head sending it face first into the ground "Is this all you goblins got?! We're mages from Fairy Tail and this is nothing, so bring it on!" Natsu yells out.

Sam suddenly pauses in the middle of battle as he is drawn upwards towards something at the doorway, Aragorn also takes notice of what is coming as well. From the doorway, a cave-troll smashes through with a massive mace in hand as two goblins pull on the chain attached to the collar around its neck. The creature walks into the room and lets out a roar towards the Fellowship and Team Natsu catching their attention.

"Natsu! That's asking for too much!" Lucy yelled out in annoyance at him jinxing them.

"You moron! You know how hard that thing's going to be to take down without us going all out and bringing this place down?!" Gray yells in anger.

Legolas fires an arrow, hitting the troll in its right shoulder. Not only does the troll just shrug it off, but the attack also angers it as it stumbles forward towards Sam and brings its mace back. Sam cries out in a panic as he quickly launches himself forward between the troll's legs just as it brings its mace down on where he once was. Sam crawls away from the troll but finds himself trapped in a corner, turning around he sees the troll now above him as it lifts its left foot up to crush him. Acting quickly however Aragorn, Boromir, and Gray pull back on the troll's chain, at first they are unable to move him but do succeed in making it drop its foot down away from Sam. Pulling again the three are this time able to move the troll as it is pulled away from Sam "I got this!" Natsu yells as he charges and jumps towards the troll.

Unfortunately however in retaliation for what the three were doing the troll spins to its right, swinging its mace around at the same time as it hits Natsu and sends him flying back into the wall on the walkway. "Natsu!" Happy cries out.

"Damn, cheap shot!" Natsu angrily says as he pushes himself back up.

A goblin charges him from his left but Natsu simply brings his hand up and grabs the goblin by the throat **"Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!"** Natsu yells as he engulfs his arm in fire and releases a small, but still deadly blast of explosive flames which propels the Goblin and those behind it back.

Meanwhile Gray and Aragorn had released their hold on the troll's chains when it swung around and jumped away to dodge its attack that hit Natsu. However while Boromir dodges the mace he finds himself still holding the chain, just as the troll then grabs the rest of it and whips Boromir off the chain by pulling it to its left and sending him flying and crashing into the wall, landing on the catwalk, and then rolling back down to the ground. Dazed by the impact Boromir sits up, only to comes face to face with a goblin in front of him with its sword raised preparing to strike the death blow, Erza however as she strikes down another goblin, turns and sees this. Twirling and extending her left hand out she calls another sword out in the air and grabs it, upon spinning all the way around she releases the sword and makes it fly right into the goblin's neck. Boromir looks back at Erza and nods his head to thank her which she returns.

Gimli cries out as he throws one of his axes into the troll's shoulder near where Legolas' arrow is. This doesn't affect the troll in the slightest as it reaches Gimli and lifts up its mace, bringing it down on the dwarf who jumps off the tomb causing it to be destroyed by the weapon.

"Hey, Merry, Pippin, keep Frodo out of that thing's sight." Lily says to the three as they stand on the upper catwalk. Merry and Pippin nod their heads and with Frodo get behind a pillar while Lily runs off to deal with more of the goblins. Gimli takes down another goblin, as he runs towards another to deal with it he notices the troll behind him and ducks down as it swings its mace and takes out the goblin. He turns around as the troll swings its mace back, just barely missing him as the close call makes him fall backwards to the ground and it hits another goblin into the corner pillar where Natsu is seen fighting a few more goblins.

The troll continues after Gimli as he turns around and pushes himself back up, from his position on the catwalk however Legolas sees this and pulls back on two arrows, firing them into the troll. Knocking the troll back as it trips over the tomb and falls onto the ground. Gandalf knocks out a goblin in front of him with his staff and then slices another goblin behind him with his sword while twisting around, Lucy swings her whip as it wraps around the leg of another goblin and pulls back making the goblin flip around in the air and fall to the ground as she then turns around and swings her whip across another goblin's face. Suddenly a familiar scream catches her attention, on the walkway Wendy finds herself cornered by a few goblins and seems to be too frightened to do anything.

Acting quickly she reaches for one of her golden keys **"Gate of the Giant Crab, I open thee! Cancer!** Cancer help Wendy!" Lucy yells as then Cancer appears in front of her in a golden light.

"Got it-ebi!" Cancer replies as he disappears in a blink of an eye. One of the goblins moves in for the kill on Wendy when suddenly Cancer appears in front of her blocking the sword.

"Cancer-san!" Wendy says.

"Snip, snip-ebi." Cancer says before pushing the goblin back and rushing forward between all of the goblins with great speed cutting them down as they all topple to the ground.

On the other catwalk Legolas holds his bow in his right hand to the side as he cuts down two goblins with one of his daggers in his left hand. He looks to his right in time to see the cave-troll as it swings its chain at him, making him duck down to dodge it. The troll swings it sideways forcing Legolas to duck down again, next the troll swings it downwards as Legolas jumps back to his right. As the troll swings it sideways again, Gajeel suddenly appears to Legolas's left with his left arm transformed into an iron club "You're one annoying son of a bitch now aren't you." Gajeel remarks.

"Thanks for the meal now you big ugly-" However before Gajeel can finish his sentence Legolas pushes past him and jumps onto the chain, running up it and onto the shoulders of the troll as it struggles to take its chain back from Gajeel. Legolas pulls back an arrow on his bow and aims it right onto the head of the troll, releasing it, unfortunately however the troll's head seems to be too thick to penetrate as the arrow snaps in half upon impact. "Sheesh talk about a literal hardhead!" Gajeel says a bit shocked at this.

The troll attempts to grab Legolas who acts quickly and jumps off it. "Come here you! **Pillar of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells as he transforms his right arm into an iron club and extends it into the troll's face, knocking the troll away and dazing it a bit as the chain breaks off from its collar. "Oh, a snack." Gajeel says with a grin as he begins eating the chain.

Sam slams a...frying pan...into a goblin's face. Behind him a goblin stumbles back into the wall as he turns around and brings the pan down onto its face "I think I'm getting the hang of this." he says before turning around and slamming the pan into another goblin's face.

"Sam! Look out!" Happy yells as Sam turns around to find a goblin about to kill him with its sword. Just before it can however Happy flies in between them and...with a fish? Slams it across the goblin's face sending it flying back. Sam is a bit confused on what just happened while Happy just turns around and looks like things were normal "A frying pan? Wow, who knew." Happy says having of noticed Sam using the pan to take a few goblins down.

"Are you using a fish? And where did you even get that?" Sam asks.

"It may be a fish, but in **my** hands, it's a deadly weapon! After all, I am a Fairy Tail mage!" Happy says as he flies off and smacks another goblin across the back of its head with his fish knocking it to the ground.

Merry, Pippin and Frodo meanwhile stand side by side on the walkway, as they walk out into the open they unfortunately find themselves discovered by the cave-troll as it brings its mace back above its head. Pippin cries out in fear as the three hobbits are forced to jump in separate directions, Merry and Pippin to their left and Frodo to his right as the troll destroys the walkway separating the three and trapping Frodo in the far corner.

"Frodo!" Aragorn yells out from nearby as he is still dealing with some goblins, stabbing another one.

Frodo quickly hides on the other side of the pillar as the troll looks for him from the opposite side he was on. Aragorn fight his way as quickly as possible to Frodo, punching a goblin to his right with his left arm and then twisting around and cutting another goblin across the stomach. Back with Frodo the troll begins to move to the other side, causing him to quickly move to the opposite side to avoid the troll again as the troll then comes in from the other side sniffing for him. It disappears back and Frodo carefully looks around the pillar to see the troll gone, thinking it's gone he draws a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh of relief while moving around the corner. Suddenly from the other direction the troll appears again roaring in the hobbit's face, causing Frodo to yelp in fright as he stumbles and falls back into a corner. Aragorn continues to fight his way to Frodo kicking one goblin off the high ground and then punching another goblin against a pillar. The troll works its way back around the pillar again and seeing Frodo in the corner makes a grab at his legs as it begins to drag him.

"Aragorn! Aragorn!" Frodo cries out, Aragorn becoming exhausted as he slams against the wall until he hears Frodo's cries for help and looks to see Frodo attempting to grab and hold onto the pillar. Aragorn's eyes widen in shock as he yells out "Frodo!" and charges towards him.

Lucy wraps her whip around a goblin's neck and throws him into the wall when she hears Aragorn's yell and turns around to see the situation. Frodo manages to stab the troll's hand, making it release him as he falls to the ground in between the walkways. The troll makes its way towards Frodo when suddenly Aragorn cries out and jumps in between them with a spear in hand. As the troll brings its mace back Aragorn charges forward and drives the spear into the troll's chest, failing to penetrate it deep enough but still making the beast cry out in pain and drop its mace as he tries to push the weapon in deeper. Merry and Pippin try helping out by throwing some rocks into the troll's face, but only annoy it as it backhands Aragorn sending him crashing into the wall and falling to the ground unconscious. Frodo rushes over and tries to shake him back awake, but to no avail as the troll then takes the spear into its own hands and goes over to Frodo who turns around in time to see it towering over him.

The troll drives the spear towards Frodo's head as he quickly ducks down to dodge it. Frodo swings Sting and cuts the troll's hand which doesn't do much as he attempts to run past it. The troll however slams the spear into the wall in front of Frodo stopping him as he is pushed back into the wall upon the troll taking the spear back. The troll takes aim at Frodo who becomes frozen in place out of absolute fear, however before the troll can do anything a whip finds itself wrapped around the troll's arm and pulled away from Frodo who looks to see Lucy trying to pull the troll away with her strength as best as possible, but it doesn't move an inch. "Run Frodo!" Lucy yells out, suddenly catching Natsu's attention as he punches another goblin to the ground and turns around.

Frodo however is still too petrified with fear to do anything, as then the troll grabs Lucy's whip and pulls it to its left sending Lucy flying into a pillar, making her grunt out in pain as she falls to the ground, loses the grip on her whip and is also knocked out. "Lucy!" Natsu cries out as he starts running over.

The whip unwinds itself from the troll's arm as it looks back at Frodo and quickly drives the spear into his chest, making Frodo cry out in pain and out of breathe. This catches Gandalf's attention as he turns around and looks at him, Merry and Pippin stare down in shock, as does Natsu as he also stops in his tracks and stares wide-eyed at Frodo. Wendy and Gajeel hear it too as they also turn to it while in the air Happy and Carla also stare with wide-eyes of shock and horror.

Frodo lets out a pained gasp of air _"No...This can't be happening...this wasn't what was in the vision!"_ Carla says in her head with her eyes twitching in horror at what just happened.

Merry and Pippin look at each other, anger appears on their faces as they jump onto the troll's back and begin stabbing away at it, their blades not doing a whole lot other than angering it as it roars out and tries reaching for them. As Natsu looks on, he then hears something over by Lucy and turns to see a goblin standing over her as it then raises its sword to finish her off, "Lucy!" Natsu yells as he sprints forward.

"Get away from her you bastard!" Natsu yells as he shoulder rams the goblin into the wall knocking them both down to the ground. Natsu gets back up quickly and coats his right fist in fire "Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" he yells out in anger before slamming his fist down at full force into the creature's face making the rest of its body shoot up into the air and cracks appear on the floor behind its head. Anger courses through his veins as it could be seen in his eyes as well, pulling his fist away Natsu sees that the whole face of the goblin was now caved in.

"Frodo…" Sam says in shock as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Frodo was still whimpering in pain and somehow still standing "Frodo!" Sam cries out again. Suddenly going out on a rampage as he strikes down any goblin that gets in his way with his sword and frying pan. Gandalf also joins in using his staff and sword combo to get back into the fight taking down many goblins that attack him. Boromir cuts down a goblin and then slices across a second goblin's chest. Gajeel transforms both of his arms into swords and extends them forward into two goblins, driving it through and slamming them into the walls, **"Ice Make Lance!"** Gray yells as he summons a barrage of extending ice lances that skewer a few goblins in front of him. Lily and Cancer meanwhile protect a petrified Wendy, her eyes stil widened in shock and horror as she looks over at Frodo, the sight of seeing him die right before her eyes was too much as finally Frodo topples forward to the ground.

Merry and Pippin continue stabbing away at the troll's head, the troll flailing around until finally it manages to grab Merry in its left hand making him drop his sword as he cries out while being swung around. Gimli comes up from behind the troll and strikes its rear with one of his axes, now wielding two again, making the troll swing around and toss Merry while doing so as Gray is able to catch him but is knocked down onto his back. Gandalf joins Gimli and strikes the troll with his sword, Gimli strikes it again but is then knocked back to the ground.

"This is unforgivable! **Requip!"** Erza yells out as she requips into her Black Wing Armor. "Happy!" Erza calls out as then Happy descends down quickly and grabs Pippin taking off with him.

Erza launches herself forward as Legolas appears behind her with an arrow pulled back. Erza cries out in anger as with her enhanced strength she drives her sword right into the troll's chest, causing it to roar in pain as then Legolas releases his arrow which travels right through the mouth and through the brain of the troll, the arrowhead coming right through the troll's head as it then stops moving and lets out a low, painful moan. Erza pulls her sword out and hovers back away from the troll as its hand fumbles up to its mouth and touches the arrow, it then begins stumbling around and with one last moan of pain, collapses forward to the ground dead.

* * *

The battle has ended. The room is now covered with the dead bodies of the goblins and the troll as the Fellowship and Team Natsu members regroup around it, Erza requips back into her normal armor and Lily goes back to his small body. Lucy groans in pain before her eyes slowly open up, finding herself looking up at Natsu who has a worried look on his face "N-Natsu?" she weakly asks to make sure.

"Lucy." Natsu says, finally regaining full conscious, Lucy sits up and rubs the back of her head. "Lucy, you alright?" Natsu asks.

"Y-Yeah." she replies as then Cancer walks over to her "Are you okay Lucy-ebi?" he asks.

"Yes Cancer. I'm fine, thanks for the help, return to the Spirit world." she says as Cancer nods his head and disappears. After he disappears, her eyes then widened in horror as she remembered what happened and looked at Natsu "Frodo! Where is-" Lucy turned and stopped. Aragorn was crawling over towards Frodo who lay dead on the ground. "Oh no…" she says while staring in shock and horror.

"Frodo…" Natsu says looking over.

"Wendy, quick! We might be able to save him!" Erza says to the young Dragon Slayer who snaps out of her horrified trance "Right!" she says with a nod as she rushes over to Frodo. Aragorn turns Frodo's body over, as a painful but not dead groan escapes from Frodo shocking everyone.

"Frodo-san!" Wendy yells in shock as Sam rushes over and kneels in front of him. "He's alive." Sam says in major relief, as along with everyone else they are glad to see that he somehow wasn't dead.

Frodo sits up and puts his right hand over where the spear went through him, breathing heavily "I'm alright. I'm not hurt." he says.

"But, how?" Wendy asks.

"You should be dead. That spear would have skewered a wild boar." Aragorn says.

"I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye." Gandalf says taking a few steps towards him. Frodo continues breathing normally now as he then looks down and opens the upper part of his shirt to reveal, a Mithril shirt that his Uncle Bilbo had given to him before they left Rivendell.

"Mithril…" Gimli says in awe.

"Well, guess that proves how powerful that mithril shit is." Gray says with a happy grin on his face.

"Aye!" Happy yells in agreement.

"Talk about some damn good luck on your side." Gajeel says with a side toothy-grin.

"You are full of surprises Master Baggins." Gimli says.

Just then Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel grunt and turn towards the door "We're not done!" they say simultaneously. And just like that everyone begins to hear what sounds like thousands of goblins crying out, their shrills echoing through Moria as everyone turns towards the main door to see a lot of shadows moving towards them. "To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" Gandalf says with haste.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: The Bridge of Khazad-dum)**_

Leaving through the back hole in the room behind Aragorn and Frodo, the Fellowship and Team Natsu run with the Exceeds flying as fast as possible back through the massive hall of pillars, Boromir carrying a re-lit torch as Gandalf lights his staff crystal. As the Hobbits along with Natsu, Lucy, and the Exceeds turn back, they find a massive horde of goblins right on their tails with more appearing by the second from around the pillars.

"What the hell?! How many of these things are there?!" Gray yells in shock as he and the others look around to see more and more Goblins popping up from out of cracks in the ground or crawling down the pillars from cracks on the ceiling.

"Too many of them to fight! Just keep going!" Gandalf yells.

The Goblins continue to appear, now they were in front of the Fellowship forcing them to turn to their right as then more crawled out from a crack in the ceiling directly above them. The group continues running/flying as fast as possible, the Goblins closing in from all around them with massive numbers until finally they appear in front of them, forcing everyone to stop in their tracks and huddle together as the horde of goblins surround them from all directions. The goblins point their spears and other weapons at them, keeping a small distance but ready to pounce at any moment as they roar and screech, the Fellowship members look around unsure of what to do since they were beyond outnumbered now to fight their way through this. And while the members of Team Natsu could've easily handled something like this, they knew their new friends couldn't and would be swarmed by the time they did any real damage to the goblins.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: The Bridge of Khazad-dum)**_

All of the goblins soon quieted down, but almost as immediately that happened, a low, but still very loud growl echoed throughout the hall. Catching everyone, including the goblins' attention as then down one of the hallways of pillars, a fiery light appeared. Another growl echoed and the goblins all turned and suddenly began screeching, but in fear as they all began to scatter, running away or climbing up the pillars in a mass panic like they knew what that growl was until finally it was only the Fellowship left in the halls.

"Nice going Lucy! Your hungry stomach scared them away!" Happy yelled as he floated towards Lucy.

"That definitely was not my stomach you stupid cat!" Lucy angrily retorted looking up at him.

Everyone was now looking down the hall towards where the light was coming from as another growl echoed out, Legolas with his arrow pulled back at the ready and looking for whatever this thing was. "Something big's coming." Natsu says narrowing his eyes.

"And whatever it is, its power is immense. Too immense…" Erza says also narrowing her eyes.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir questions.

 _ **(Re-insert Lord of the Rings: The Bridge of Khazad-dum)**_

Gandalf doesn't respond, he closes his eyes and everything is silent as everyone continues to look down the hall at the light, which now seemed to be moving towards them. A different sounding growl was heard as then Gandalf opened his eyes, a look of grim and solemn on his face.

"A Balrog...A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you." Gandalf says.

"That light though, is it made of fire? Cause if that's the case I can-"

"No." Gandalf says with urgency in his tone. "The flames of a Balrog would be poisonous to you, Natsu. Eat those, and you won't live to see the end of the day, and not even Wendy's magic will be able to heal you. There is only one thing we can do...Run!" Gandalf yells the last part as he turns and begins running, everyone is shocked for a second but immediately follows after him without question.

The roar of the Balrog echoes again as the lights seem to be getting closer behind them, a small doorway was luckily ahead of them as they rushed through it. "Quickly!" Gandalf urges as he and Aragorn stop at the doorway to make sure everyone gets through before looking back and then continuing on.

Boromir was now in the lead, running down a flight of stairs as he looked back to make sure everyone was behind him. Running down the next flight and out into a massive open area with a never-ending abyss below, he runs towards the next stairs but quickly stops in his tracks when he find the stairs ending, the rest of it missing as he cries out in shock and drops the torch into the abyss below. Boromir flails his arms around to try and keep himself from falling as then Legolas runs up and pulls him back, everyone else arrives behind them and stop in their tracks seeing the abyss and missing stairs.

"Gandalf." Aragorn says to a weary Gandalf as he leans against the wall.

Gandalf looks at him and puts his hand on his left shoulder "Lead them on, Aragorn. The bridge is near." Gandalf says looking in a specific direction, Aragorn follows the gaze to see the Bridge of Khazad-dum far off in the distance connecting a hall to a cliff face most likely leading outside. Another roar from the Balrog erupts into the air as Aragorn moves towards Gandalf but is violently pushed back as he yells "Do as I say!"

Confusing Aragorn as he looks back at him "Swords are no more use here." he says as the group turn to the staircase to their right and begin running down that one. Turning at the end corner to go down the next set of stairs with Legolas hopping down from the upper one, eventually they arrive at a gap in the stairs which the Exceeds easily fly over and turn around to look back at the others. Legolas jumps first to the other side and turns around, Erza is then next and makes it with ease like Legolas before turning as well. Behind them the Balrog roars again, its fire is seen in the doorway as it seems to be trying to break through causing cracks and crumbling in the foundation and sending rocks tumbling into the depths.

Gandalf turns around "Gandalf!" Legolas calls as he looks back and then jumps to be caught by Legolas. Suddenly, the whistle of an arrow being released echoes through the air as then an arrow impacts into but rebounds off the steps in front of Boromir. Everyone looks to see where the arrow came from, to see goblin archers on far off ledges firing arrows at them as more arrows fly their way, one of which hits in front of the hobbits feet as it rebound off but still makes them to stumble back a bit. **"Gate of the Archer, I open thee! Sagittarius!"** Lucy yells summoning Sagittarius on the opposite staircase so he can offer some archer support.

"I am here, moshi-moshi." He says with an arrow already pulled back. Erza also requips a bow and arrow into her hands to help out as she, along with Sagittarius, Legolas, and Aragorn begin returning fire at the goblins. Legolas fires first as his arrow travels right through the forehead of a goblin, the goblin then falls off the ledge with a screech as it falls into the dark abyss.

"Merry! Pippin!" Boromir yells as he grabs the two and jumps forward to the other side, just as the ground beneath them gives away and they make it to the other side with Legolas helping to catch and stop them.

The goblins continue to fire, but so do the archers of the Fellowship as Sagittarius fires again hitting another goblin as it falls off the ledge, only to be replaced by another which Legolas shoots down almost immediately as then Aragorn manages to hit another as well. Gray jumps and makes it to the other side as he is caught by Boromir.

"Sam!" Aragorn says as he puts his bow away, grabbing Sam and tossing him at Boromir who catches him. Aragorn then turns to Gimli but he quickly puts his hand up "Nobody tosses a Dwarf." he states, swinging his arms back and then forward as he jumps with a cry, but just barely lands on the edge of the stairs as he is about to fall backwards had it not been for Legolas who quickly grabs his beard. "Not the beard!" Gimli yells out as Erza releases another arrow. Legolas pulls Gimli up and grabs him to make sure he doesn't fall forward.

"Come on shrimp." Gajeel says as he grabs Wendy in his right arm and jumps forward, just as the ground beneath him gives away as well, but is soon followed by a few more steps giving away beneath Aragorn, Frodo, Natsu, and Lucy. Aragorn and Natsu act quickly and push Frodo and Lucy back as they both jump back and grab onto the ledge, Frodo and Lucy act quickly after getting back up and help pull them onto the stairs.

Standing back up Aragorn says "Steady." as the four look at the larger gap that now lies between them and the others. "This shouldn't be a problem, Happy!" Natsu calls out.

"Aye sir!" Happy replies as he Lily, and Carla are about to fly over and pick three of them up and then go back for the fourth, when suddenly a roar from the Balrog again brings everyone to look back at the doorway to see as the cracks continue to form on the ceiling and walls. More rocks break off and fall, one of which happens to be a huge chunk which destroys the steps far behind the four. This however weakens the stairs foundation even more as the stair now begins wobbling a bit "Hang on!" Aragorn says to Frodo.

"Hang on guys!" Happy yells as he and the Exceeds are about to fly when Lucy yells at them "Stop! Any sudden changes in the weight and this thing goes down along with whichever one of us is left behind!"

The stairs continue to wobble as the four try to balance themselves on it to prevent them from falling over, the others watching with worried looks on their faces as luckily the goblins seemed to have retreated. "What do we do?" Natsu asks.

Just then Lucy takes notice of something, when they lean forward the stairs seem to begin toppling forward, almost as if moving their body weight forward in one direction would send the stairs that way first. Aragorn seems to notice this too as he says "Lean forward!" everyone quickly complies and does so, the stairs begin tipping forward as they find themselves slowly getting close to the others who stand ready to catch them.

"Come on!" Legolas says.

"Now!" Aragorn yells as the stairs impact into the other side, Aragorn and the others launch themselves forward as Legolas catches Aragorn, Boromir catches Frodo, Gray catches Natsu, and Erza catches Lucy. With that finally over, everyone turns around and begins running down the stairs, Lucy de-summoning Sagittarius, as the other stairs topple to the side and break apart upon hitting the side wall and fall into the depths.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: The Bridge of Khazad-dum)**_

Eventually they arrive in the hall and turn the corner to see the Bridge of Khazad-dum ahead of them, a wall of fire behind them for some reason as Gandalf stops in his tracks to direct everyone towards the bridge. "Over the bridge! Fly!" instead of following after the others, he turns around and looks into the wall of fire, suddenly from it a great form of black shadow leaps through the flames, its eyes of white fire, great ash-black horns curling around a bull-like head, and as it opens its mouth, nothing but fire is seen inside as its roar sound like that of an erupting volcano. It was the Balrog. Carla turned around and upon seeing the massive creature, she froze in the air, her eyes widened and pupils shrunk in terror, the sight of it in her vision and then that someone's death falling into the abyss that was below Khazad-dum, replaying in her mind.

"...Carla!" the voice of Happy crying out for her snapped her back to reality as she turned around and saw him looking at her with a worried face "Come on!" he says as he grabs her paw and begins to pull her through the air. Gandalf turns and begins running away from the Balrog, everyone having of stopped running gets back to it upon seeing the monster.

"What the hell?! That's the Balrog?!" Gray yells in shock.

"Just keep running! Don't stop!" Erza yells.

The Balrog just walks right after them, a constant stream of shadow-like fog coming from its wings leaving it behind in a trail. Everyone soon begins running their way, one by one across the narrow bridge until finally everyone makes it across...except for Gandalf who stops halfway and turns around, a determined look on his face to face the Balrog. Everyone stops running up the stairs and turns to notice this, all of them become shocked by what they see as the Balrog then stops in its tracks.

"You cannot pass!" Gandalf angrily declares.

"Gandalf!" Frodo yells in fear.

Carla eyes widened again _"No...Please don't…"_

"Hey! Old man what are you doing?!" Natsu yells.

"Come on! That bridge is too narrow for it to follow after us!" Lucy yells.

Gandalf doesn't respond however, the Balrog straightens itself and spreads its arms out as the shadows continue to emit from its body before suddenly erupting into fire with a loud cracking sound. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor." Gandalf begins to say as he raises his staff forward, creating a shield of light around him as the Balrog suddenly creates a sword of fire in its right hand. "The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun!" Gandalf yells.

The Balrog swings its sword down on him, hitting the shield which seems to repel and destroy the sword as Gandalf cries out, the Balrog stumbles back a bit as Gandalf's shield disappears. Aragorn runs forward a bit but stops, knowing quite well there was nothing he was going to be able to do.

"Screw this shit! I don't need to eat that thing's fire to kick its ass! We need to help the old man!" Natsu says in anger and determination.

Erza grits her teeth and grunts in anger, but accepts what Natsu said "You're right, Gray, Gajeel, let's go!" Erza says as the four run back down the stairs. "No wait! Don't!" Carla yells trying to stop them, the last thing she needed was **five** of their friends to perish because of their interference, she knew what was going to happen now, and unfortunately, just like always, it had to happen and there was nothing they could do to stop it. However before they can get any farther down the stairs, Gandalf quickly swings his staff backwards, sending some kind of telekinetic blast into the four and blasting them back.

"Guys!" Lucy yells as she and Wendy rush down to their sides.

"Stay back!" Gandalf yells as the Balrog recovers and roars at him in anger. "Go back to the Shadow." Gandalf says as the Balrog takes a step forward onto the bridge, which holds much to Lucy's shock that the bridge could support the massive weight of that thing. Everyone continues to watch, even Natsu and the others who are shocked by Gandalf not allowing them to help, if they worked together with him, they had a chance at beating it, but he wouldn't allow it.

The Balrog then created a fiery whip, lashing it out in a menacing threat. **"YOU~. SHALL NOT. PASS!"** Gandalf yells as he brings his sword and staff together and raises them into the air. Then slamming his staff down onto the bridge as a bright flash of light appears for a brief second before dimming away. The Balrog waits, seeing what would happen in which nothing does as Gandalf continues to grit his teeth and keep his staff on the ground, flaring its nostrils the Balrog moved forward to strike Gandalf with its whip, when suddenly the bridge beneath its feet gives out. The pieces of the bridge and the Balrog, begin their plunge into the deep, dark abyss that was below it, roaring as it flailed its arms and whip.

Natsu and the other Fairy Tail mages seeing this, smiled/grinned in relief at seeing Gandalf emerge from the battle okay. Carla however, was skeptical and kept her eyes towards Gandalf, Gandalf let out an exhausted breath and turned around to rejoin the others. When suddenly the Balrog lashed out with its whip, the whip wrapped itself around Gandalf's right ankle and pulled him back over the edge as he manages to grab onto it, though in the process causing him to lose his sword and staff. Seeing this everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror again, especially Carla, Frodo attempted to rush forward to save Gandalf, but Boromir stopped in in his tracks, fearful that the Balrog could do it again and take another with him.

"No! No!" Boromir yelled.

"GANDALF!" Frodo cried out.

Gandalf attempts to pull himself back up, but slips back to where he started as he looks towards Frodo and the others who all stare at him with horrified looks in their eyes. "Fly you fools!" he says, suddenly and without warning releasing his grip. Falling into the chasm as the light of the Balrog could still barely be seen glimmering far below, in just a few seconds Gandalf's body is consumed by darkness.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: Gandalf Falls)**_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Frodo cries out in absolute sadness and pain, tears already starting to form in his eyes as he tries to break free from Boromir who keeps his hold on him.

Happy, tears also forming in his eyes and without saying a word attempts to fly down to rescue him, however Lily suddenly stops and grabs him and begins pulling him away. Across the chasm, a massive army of goblin archers begin to appear, they were still at risk and needed to get out of there. Seeing this and with no other choice, Erza and Gray get back up, Gray grabs Happy from Lily and Erza grabs the petrified Carla, who knows that once again, her vision came true. But this time, unlike those other times where things turned out alright in the end, it didn't. Gajeel gets up and grabs the also petrified Wendy, her eyes widened and pupils shrunk, Boromir picks up Frodo who continues to cry out, everyone else begins making their way out of the mines except for the frozen Aragorn.

"Aragorn!" Boromir yells out, his voice echoing out slowly as the world around Aragorn just, seemed to slow down.

Natsu grinds his canine teeth together, his eyes narrowed into pure anger as he cried out in anger "GANDALF!" he wasn't going to let this go unpunished, he was going to go back across that bridge and start beating every single one of those goblins to death until none of them were left. He got back up, but felt someone hanging onto him, he turned his head slightly and gasped to see it was Lucy, she had her hands over his shoulders and together in a grieving hug, her head against his shoulder as her eyes were closed, but he could see the tears that were already in her eyes, ready to start coming down her face at any second.

"Natsu...please…" Lucy pleaded, the sadness and pain in her voice clear just like Frodo's. Natsu wanted to go back and take down all of those goblins, it was because of this damn mine, that Gandalf was dead. However, as soon as he heard her voice, something inside him said otherwise. The thought of going back in there, and the anger, it disappeared. He turned around in her grasp, picking her up bridal style as her face dug into his shoulder so that she could cry and began to run up the stairs as the goblins got close enough to start releasing the arrows towards the remaining Fellowship members.

"NO~!" Frodo cried out again as Boromir turned around and left. Aragorn finally snapped out of his trance as well and began to run up the stairs, Natsu in front of him. Aragorn turned around one last time to look back into Moria as more goblins continued to arrive, dodging an arrow before turning back and running up the stairs to finally escape the Mines of Moria.

* * *

They had finally gotten out, running out through a massive opened door down a bridge back into the bright, open world on a lightly snow covered, rocky mountain, the Fellowship had finally escaped Moria...but at a great cost. Now wasn't the time for celebration, but grievance. Sam sits on the ground and places his head onto his right hand as he begins crying in sadness and pain, the same feeling that was going through everyone. Gimli vents his sadness out in rage, wanting to go back in there to fight the goblins but was being held back by Boromir who had a pain and saddened look on his face as well. Near them Merry was consoling Pippin who laid sideways on the ground crying. Legolas had a look of shock and disbelief at what happened, but the pain was still there in his eyes. As for the members of Team Natsu...

Happy cried onto Gray's shoulder as he held the Exceed in his arms, painful and saddened looks were on his, Erza, Lily, Carla, and even the always trying to act tough Gajeel's faces. Erza held Carla in her arms as she laid against Erza's shoulder, Wendy was also crying into Gajeel's shoulder as he continued to hold her, no snarky comment, no nothing like he would've done in any other situation, but this wasn't one of them. Natsu sat on the ground, Lucy still in his arms as he hugged her and she hugged him back as she continued to whimper and cry into his shoulder. Even though they had barely knew Gandalf compared to the rest of their friends back at Fairy Tail, a friend, was still a friend, and to lose one was just...unbearable.

Nearby, Aragorn wipes his sword as he turns to the others "Legolas, get them up." Aragorn says. Legolas hesitates at first, but then makes his way over to Merry and Pippin.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir retorts in anger.

"Do you even realize what just happened?! We just lost-!" Natsu pauses, stopping himself from saying what he was going to since it would just cause more pain before continuing on "And you're gonna have us just get up and continue like nothing happened...without even mourning for him!" Natsu questions with anger.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs!" Aragorn says. Silencing both Boromir and Natsu.

Natsu wanted to say something, anything, they needed to mourn for **him**. But he knew Aragorn was right. They needed to get off these hills before they found themselves swarmed by more Orcs, they couldn't risk someone else dying and letting his sacrifice be in vain. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien." Aragorn says as he re-sheathes his sword.

"Come Boromir. Legolas, Gimli, get them up." Aragorn says as he runs up to them.

"Erza." Aragorn says looking at her, Erza nods her heading understanding what he needed of her.

"Carla?" she asks as she looks down at her, Carla nods her head as she sprouts her wings and flies from her hold. Happy does the same as he flies out from Gray's hold.

"Hey, you okay to...you know…" Gajeel asks as Wendy pulls back and looks at him, nodding her head as she stopped crying. Trying to put on a brave face just like everyone else was going to have to do as he set her on the ground, Wendy wiping away her remaining tears.

"On your feet Sam." Aragorn says pulling Sam up onto his feet and giving him a reassuring tap on the shoulder. "Frodo?" Aragorn calls out when he notices Frodo isn't with the others. He then spots Frodo slowly walking away a few feet away from him "Frodo!" he calls out. His voice echoing out as Frodo stops and turns around to face him as a tear goes down the right side of his face.

"Lucy...if you want...I can carry you to-"

"It's...its okay...Natsu." Lucy says, pulling away from and looking up at him, her eyes reddened from her crying as she wipes away the remaining tears.

"I'll...I'll be fine." She say as she lowers her look down. She then unwinds herself from Natsu who releases her, allowing her to sit back up as she walks away. Natsu stands back up but looks at Lucy as she walks away, a painful look on his face.

"Lucy…" he says.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: Gandalf Falls)**_

* * *

 **Q &A…**

 **ItsDaKoolaidDude:** Well don't worry, unless I say it's a One-Shot, it won't be and will be a full on story that will be completed.


	5. Sadness & Revelations in Lothlorien

The Fellowship was back on their feet slowly making their way through a flat green area of the hill with a great lake near and shallow riverbed. Aragorn was jogging a bit ahead of the others, running his way across a shallow pool of water as he ran onto a rock and stared out into the distance to see the wooded realm of Lothlorien, they were close.

 _Sometime Later…_

The Fellowship and Team Natsu jogged their way across an open grassy field until they finally made it to the edge of the forest and entered. The trees were tall and shapely, they were covered by lichen and moss and leaves were seen constantly twirling down from the sky, and yet the trees looked like they hadn't lost any at all. As they made their way through the forest, the Fairy Tail mages had uneasy looks on their faces. As if they were sensing something, not quite right about the place.

"Anyone else feel a bit...weird?" Lucy asks as she looks around the forest.

"I don't like this place. I feel safe, but at the same time scared." Happy whimpers while also looking around.

"Everyone stay on alert." Erza cautions as they continue walking.

"Stay close young hobbits!" Gimli quietly whispers, motioning to them to hurry up as he stopped for them. Putting a hand on Frodo's shoulder "They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods. An Elf-witch…" Gimli says as he lowers his hand and continues forward, his hands constantly holding his battle-axe at the ready for trouble as he kept close to the four hobbits. "...of terrible power...All who look upon her...fall under her spell."

" _Frodo…"_ A whispering, echoing voice that sounds female calls out, but only Frodo seems to hear it as he looks around startled.

"...and are never seen again." Gimli finishes saying.

" _Your coming to us…"_ Frodo halts in his tracks as a pair of eyes flash through his head _"is as the footsteps of doom. You bring great evil here, Ring-bearer!"_ the voice says again.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam says catching his attention as he begins looking around, a frightened look on his face before he continues forward.

"Lucy, stay close to me." Natsu says as he waits for her to catch up to him, a worried look on her face as she continues to look around. Natsu then continues on once she's close enough, he narrows his eyes and begins looking around, just like the others, there was something...off...about this forest. Something he'd never felt before. It wasn't evil or anything bad he was sensing, it was just weird. He didn't know what to make of it. He listened carefully with his ears and heard nothing, he sniffed the air and smelled nothing but his friends and the forest. It seemed they were still good for now.

"Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a fox." Gimli says with confidence. When suddenly he finds two arrows pointed right at his face appearing in front of him "Oh…" he says.

Before anyone could react, more bows with arrows already pulled back began popping up seamlessly from out of nowhere as Frodo and Sam, Merry, and then Pippin stop in their tracks with arrows now aimed at their faces. Team Natsu stop in their tracks and look around alarmed with a lot of arrows pointing at them, ready to be let loose if just one of them tried something, Legolas has his own bow and arrow out and pointing back at a least one of the archers, but glances around to see that their current situation was not in their favor.

"What the?" Lily says as he and the other Exceeds hover in the air with arrows pointing up at them.

"Um, hello, earth to Dragon Slayers. You guys wanna warn us when we got company?" Gray questions standing ready for a fight.

"But...But…" Wendy says, her, Gajeel, and Natsu all appear to be at a loss for words.

"These guys literally appeared out of nowhere!" Gajeel states with shock written all over his face.

"Not a scent, not even a sound! How the hell?!" Natsu questions. They were surrounded from all sides by elves who literally, as the Dragon Slayers put it, appeared from out of nowhere. No scents or not even noise picked up by their enhanced senses which shocked them like crazy on how these elves were able to do such a thing.

Aragorn raises his hands up a little as then an elf, most likely the leader of the group, steps forward "The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark." he says garnering a low growl from Gimli.

* * *

Night has fallen, the Fellowship is taken onto some kind of lookout outpost platform, some other ones nearby with elves on them as then the lead elf greets Legolas _"Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil."_

" _Our Fellowship stands in your debt._ Haldir of Lorien. _"_ Legolas replies.

The elf, now identified as Haldir, then looks at Aragorn _"Ah, Aragorn of the Dunedain. You are known to us."_ Haldir says as Aragorn replies quietly to him.

"So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves! Speak words we can all understand!" Gimli suddenly speaks up in an annoyed tone making Haldir look down at him.

"We have not had dealings with the Dwarves since the Dark Days." he says, an unpleasant look on his face.

"Just saying it would be nice to know what the hell you're talking about." Natsu quietly mumbles under his breath, Lucy hears and elbows him in the chest to stop him from being disrespectful to them. Haldir glances over towards Natsu for a second before then looking back at Gimli "And you know what this Dwarf says to that? _Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul_!"

Aragorn closes his eyes while Erza and Gray share raised eyebrows at each other wondering what he just said, Aragorn then turns around with an angered look on his face and puts his hand on Gimli's right shoulder " **That** was not so courteous." he states.

Haldir seems to ignore this and takes a few steps to Aragorn's right, looking past him to see Sam and Frodo who look back towards him, however, upon seeing Frodo he stops and stares directly towards him. "You bring great evil with you." Haldir says with disdain in his tone. He then turns to Aragorn and says "You can go no further." and walks away.

Sam and Pippin look back at Frodo, wondering why he said that to Frodo, but Frodo knew probably why. "What the hell's his problem?" Natsu angrily questions.

"It has to be...you know…" Lucy says as she then mouths the words _"The Ring"_ to Natsu who widens his eyes a bit finally understanding it. "This just got complicated didn't it?" Gray says.

"When don't things ever not get complicated?" Gajeel says with his arms crossed.

Time passes by, the rest of the Fellowship just sits around and wait as Aragorn quietly argues with Haldir about obviously trying to allow them to pass through. "I don't get it. Elrond allowed the Ring into Rivendell obviously, what do these guys have against us just passing through with it?" Natsu questioned as he continued to sit around holding his head up with his hands.

Lucy lets out a sigh "Who knows." she replies as she rests her head on her hands as well with her eyes closed.

As Frodo looks over at Sam, he notices him looking back before then looking away from him, same for Merry and Pippin for some reason. Gimli and Legolas glanced over at him as Frodo looked back down at the ground.

"Must be hard for him. He's never lost anyone before in his life until now, and right in front of his eyes too. Probably thinking he could've done something to save him, maybe had he just been stronger or something." Gray quietly says to Erza.

"What makes you say that?" Erza asks.

"Cause...that's how I felt after Ur." Gray replies solemnly, thinking back to when his teacher sacrificed herself to save him and his friend Lyon from the demon Deliora. Same situation in a way too. Gandalf sacrificing himself to defeat a demon to save his loved ones. It took a long time for Gray to move past that, it was only with help from his friends at Fairy Tail that he was able to, Frodo though, he didn't know if he'd be able to, even with his friends around to help him.

Boromir suddenly speaks to Frodo quietly catching his attention "Gandalf's death was not in vain. Nor would he have you give up hope. You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Don't carry the weight of the dead." he says, Frodo looks back down taking in his words when suddenly they notice Haldir approach catching everyone's attention.

"You will follow me." he says.

 _Sometime Later…_

The sun has arisen for a new day. A caravan of elves now lead the Fellowship members through the woods of Lothlorien, time seems to go by fast as they trek through the woods, eventually they come upon a ridge just as the sun is about to set again. Walking to the top they peer out towards something in the distance "Caras Galadhon. The heart of Elvendom on earth. Realm of the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel, Lady of Light." Haldir says, before them was a great glade of trees rising above the world, green and gold, rays of light drifting from the branches of trees.

The Fellowship eventually arrives at Caras Galadhon, climbing a winding pathway among the great trees as the last rays of evening sun stream through their trunks. Just like Moria, the members of the Fellowship and Team Natsu were in awe as they looked around. "Think it's safe to say this place beats the look of Moria by a long-shot. It ain't as big, but it at least ain't dangerous." Gray says.

"Aye…" Happy says.

"The elves do seem to have a good taste for combining nature with architecture to make their homes in. No matter what time of day, this place must always look beautiful, when the sun rises, in the afternoon, when it goes down, and at night." Carla says.

"Seriously, you'd definitely never see something as beautiful as this back home…" Lucy says.

Soon the Fellowship arrive at a tall and massive tree with a spiraling staircase going around its trunk. It is not long until night falls as the group is still making their way up the staircase which takes them very, very high into the trees. The blue lights of Lothlorien shine brightly, and around them on the other trees the group could make out houses on the branches or just hanging on the side of the trunks.

"Yep. Always beautiful, no matter the time of the day." Carla says as she and the other Exceeds are now walking on the ground with the others.

"The dwarves build their homes under mountains. And the elves build theirs in forests. The time it has to take for these races to build their homes like this." Wendy says.

"It truly is incredible. And makes me curious as to how they do some of them, under mountains? Houses on trees?" Lily says.

Arriving at the top they come upon a great white palace with bright shining silver lights coming out from it. Walking into the place they step on a walkway that circles around a tree trunk in the center of the room, three-pronged golden leaves are scattered about the floor as Haldir leads them to the platform that is before an archway with a single small staircase. Haldir steps aside as they gather together on the platform and look up the steps, suddenly a bright glow appears before them. The light. Seemingly coming from an elven man and woman that join hands and begin to slowly walk down the steps, the members all stare in awe once again while Aragorn touches his head in a reverently greeting, all of them seemed to be drawn to the woman as the men, and even the young women had to agree that her beauty was the likes of which they'd never seen before. Well, at least to the residents of Middle-Earth. For the Fairy Tail members, they saw her looks almost being on par of that of Mirajane, well in the looks department but not…"other areas."

If they had to guess this was most likely Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. "The enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone…Seventeen there are here, yet eighteen there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar." Celeborn says.

As he speaks Galadriel's eyes look towards Aragorn who looks up at her "Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into Shadow." Galadriel says, somehow knowing this without any of the Fellowship members saying anything, almost like she read Aragorn's eyes as he nods at her. Celeborn looks towards her as then Legolas speaks up "He was taken by both Shadow and flame…A Balrog of Morgoth." Legolas says.

Galadriel lowers her head in sadness, a distressed look on Celeborn's face hearing of this, it was clear he was shocked and saddened to hear this. "For we went needlessly into the net of Moria." Legolas finishes, Gimli lowering his head, it appeared he blamed himself for what happened since it was he who suggested going through there in the first place.

"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose." Galadriel says, Frodo had been keeping his eyes on her since she first arrived along with Natsu, there was something off about her that he seemed to be sensing, or maybe it was just a feeling he was getting, he didn't know. Everyone else had their heads lowered to show respect to her, as well as cause of the sadness of bringing Gandalf up that he had perished back in Moria. Galadriel then turned her head slowly and looked at Gimli "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dum full your heart. Gimli, son of Gloin. For the world has grown full of peril...and in all lands, love, is now mingled with grief."

Boromir looks up at Galadriel as she turns and stares back at him, starlight was glimmering in her eyes as for some reason Boromir was now sweating like crazy and weeping, he then turned away from her. "What now becomes of this Fellowship? Without Gandalf, hope is lost." Celeborn says. Galadriel then turned her gaze on Natsu who was a bit taken back when he noticed her turn towards him, quickly he lowered his head back down.

"Perhaps...not. Or maybe it is. It seems only time will tell, where you, mages of Fairy Tail will come into play of what is to come." Galadriel says, catching Team Natsu's attention as they all looked up at her with shocked looks written on their faces. They did not mention anything about who they were or where they came from to her or any of the elves of Lothlorien. Was she somehow able to read people's thoughts? Like what she had did to know that Gandalf had not survived?

"Either way….The quest stands upon the edge of a knife...Stray but a little, and it will fail...to the ruin, of all...Yet hope remains while the Company is true." Galadriel says as she then glances down at Sam who stares back at her, keeping it unlike Boromir as she looks away. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now, and rest...for you are weary with sorrow, and much toil. Tonight…" Galadriel then looks down at Lucy who is taken back as she comes into eye contact with her, but is unable to bring herself to move her eyes away from her for some reason. "You will sleep."

* * *

 _Later that Night…_

Back on the ground, an area is provided for the Fellowship to rest in. The Hobbits are settling down to rest, in the trees, the Elves' can be heard singing, one female voice rising above the others who sing softly in the background. Legolas walks into the area holding a small thin silver cup in his hands "What are they singing?" Happy asks.

"A lament for Gandalf." Legolas says. Under the cover that hangs over the sleeping area for the Fellowship members, Team Natsu with their own directly next to theirs, Aragorn sharpens his sword while Gimli is already fast asleep. Stopping as he looks up to listen to them.

"It sounds so beautiful." Wendy says as she looks up at the trees, her and the Fairy Tail mages in their sleeping area as they are getting ready for bed with Gajeel and Lily already passed out.

"What do they say about him?" Merry asks.

"I have not the heart to tell you." Legolas says with his head lowered, a saddened look on his face. He then turns around and looks at Merry "For me, the grief is still too near."

"I bet they don't mention his fireworks. There should be a verse about them." Sam says as he and Merry fixed their beds on the ground. He stops and then stands up "The finest rockets ever seen." Sam begins, Pippin who was on his bed listening in with a pained look on his face remembering those times. Natsu and the others listen in as well, they had heard from the hobbits that whenever Gandalf came to the Shire he always had fireworks with him, whether little ones for the kids to be excited about or big ones for a celebration of some kind. He always had them.

"They burst in stars of blue and green." Gimli snores a bit too loudly, annoying Aragorn who swats his pillow garnering a grunt from him "Or after thunder, silver showers. Came falling like a rain of flowers. Oh, that doesn't do them justice by a long road." Sam says as he then sits down on his cot.

Hearing this causes Wendy to rest her head on a tree root with a saddened look on her face "I wish we got to see his fireworks…" she says.

"Bet he'd make our Fairy Tail Farewell Ceremonies better with his fireworks if I understand what Sam was trying to get at." Natsu says trying to lighten the mood a bit. Unfortunately it didn't seem to work as he looked at Lucy who just laid on her bed with a saddened expression, making Natsu's smile disappear.

"Come. We should get some rest now, after all we've been through we need it." Erza says as she requips out of her armor into some pajamas to go to sleep. Natsu heads over to his cot while Lucy undoes the ribbons from her hair to allow the pigtails to fall into the rest of her long blonde hair before lying back down and pulling the blanket over her to sleep. The others soon joined as well going to their beds and going to sleep.

 _Time, Unknown…_

Natsu's eyes shoot open. He doesn't know why, he just sits up and looks around, a strange feeling in his gut for some reason. He notices everyone fast asleep, that is, except for one bed that is empty of its inhabitant, Lucy. Getting up he begins sniffing the air and picking up her scent he follows it, he doesn't have to walk far until he peeks around a tree and sees Lucy huddling up against the tree, her face facing down towards the ground as her hair was still let loose and hanging down all the way past her shoulders. Before he can say anything, he accidentally steps on a branch, snapping it and alerting Lucy who jumps at first and looks up, but calms down a bit upon seeing Natsu, though she was still taken back seeing him there "Natsu?"

Natsu looks back at Lucy "Lucy, sorry if I disturbed you or anything. Just, well got a bit worried when I woke up and didn't see you in your bed." Natsu says rubbing the back of his head feeling a bit embarrassed if he did interrupt something.

"Huh? Oh, no. I-It was nothing. Just, you know, taking in the view of this place a bit more before we head tomorrow is all." Lucy says, though Natsu could sense that she was lying, which worried him a bit as to why as he narrowed his eyes a bit at her.

"Really? Admiring it by looking at the ground?" Natsu questions making Lucy gasp lightly before a saddened look comes across her face and she looks forward. "Guess we've known each other for so long it's no use trying to lie to you." Lucy says, her tone shifting into sadness.

Natsu walks around the roots on the ground and sits in front of Lucy "Lucy, we're partners. If there's something wrong you can tell me about it. That's what being partners is all about, being there for each other no matter what. Right?" Natsu says.

Lucy keeps looking down at the ground in between her and Natsu "R-Right…" she says. He was right in that regard, whenever one of them wasn't feeling well, or was in trouble, the other was always there to help out, well most of those situations involved Natsu always being there for her when she was sick, down, or in trouble, but still she was also there for him when he was in any of the situations. "Then tell me, what's wrong with you? Is it about Gandalf?" Natsu asks.

Still her gaze is at the ground "Well, yeah there's that. But...that wasn't the main reason I had trouble sleeping and woke up needing some time alone." Lucy says.

"Then, what is it?" Natsu asks.

"It's...we got lucky back there in that chamber, where Gimli's cousin's tomb was. It wouldn't have been only Gandalf we lost, but Frodo as well." Lucy says.

Natsu was confused at first but then remembered back to what happened in there. When the troll was able to stab Frodo with a spear, but luck had been on his side and he was saved by the mithril shirt of his. "We were lucky for that mithril shirt of his, or that the troll didn't stab him somewhere else, but if it wasn't for those then Frodo would've died. I tried to stop the troll, but I failed. Had it been you, or any of the others you easily would've succeeded. But me...I failed...and it's because of that we almost lost Frodo." Lucy says.

Natsu's eyes widened upon realizing what was going on, she was blaming herself for the fact that Frodo almost died, after all she did try to stop the troll but wasn't able to and got hurt in the process. "You guys are always telling me that I'm strong, we're the strongest team in all of Fairy Tail and everything, and that I belong on it with you guys. You, Gray, and Erza said that to me when we first formed the team back after the war with Phantom. And yet...how many times have there been where I've needed you guys to come and save me, or there's someone I can't beat by myself without your help? You guys were always there for me when I needed it, no matter what, I never really thought of it even after I lost both of my fights in the Grand Magic Games cause you guys were always there to cheer me up and things always turned out well in the end for us. But...what happened back there. It finally made me face reality that I don't deserve to be on this team with you guys." Lucy says.

Unknown to Lucy as she said that Natsu gritted his teeth in anger. "Even Wendy's stronger than me thanks to her being a Dragon Slayer. She could've saved Frodo from the troll. Frodo almost died, because I was weak. For being a part of the strongest team I sure suck at being strong in it." Lucy says. Before she can say anything else she hears "Stop it." she does so and looks up at Natsu with confusion, to see his face cringing in anger. "Stop saying that shit about yourself. Lucy. It's not true...none of it is." Natsu says looking at her.

Lucy gasps lightly "Natsu…" she says quietly, taken back by what he was saying. "Stop saying that you're weak, cause it's not true. Not one bit of that crap is true at all. Don't blame yourself for what almost happened back there, Aragorn failed too and he's strong as well. What happened to you could've happened to any one of us in a different way, it's not like we'll ever know it. But even I could've tried to stop that troll and failed as well. And if Frodo died, then hell yeah, I would've beat myself up over it, but I would've gotten back on my feet because he wouldn't have wanted me to stop this mission because I failed at saving him. And that's what Gandalf wants us to do as well knowing that old man, we can beat ourselves up as much as we want for maybe wishing we could've helped him in some kind of way. But in the end, what happened, happened, and there's nothing more we can do but complete the mission at destroying this damn ring and protecting Frodo. We're just lucky what happened with Frodo did, but don't you dare start calling yourself weak and blaming yourself for what almost happened. You've been a valued member on this team ever since it was formed, even before then being partners with me and Happy. And you always will be, no matter what. All of us have our defeats, our horrible moments, but that doesn't stop any of us and doesn't make us question ourselves as a member of this team. What makes us strong, our team, is that we're always there for one another no matter what. That's where our strength comes from, not individually, but as a team, just like when we all worked together to take down Hades, which you were there for to help us all out. As your teammate, your partner, and best friend, the last thing I can stand is sitting here letting you call yourself weak, because you're not. You got unlucky, that's all. But don't let what happened take you down, be glad that in the end Frodo survived with his luck and move on. And if you need someone to cheer you up, then ask one of us to help you." Natsu says, a very serious look on his face as he finishes.

Lucy was completely taken back by this as she just stared at him in awe, a small tint of blush coming to her cheeks "Natsu…" she quietly says again. She had seen his caring side before, many times, but this time, it was really and she meant **really** different from before. But, nevertheless, it still had the same effect on her as all those other times, making her smile "Thank you." she quietly says.

"So, if you need some cheering up. Well then I got just the thing for yah." Natsu says as he suddenly raises his hands forward and begins wiggling his fingers up and down, a mischievous grin on his face. Lucy's face then turns into an embarrassed one as her cheeks go red knowing what he was talking about...he was going to tickle her! And unfortunately she was really ticklish! "Eh? W-Wait a minute now Natsu. It's really late and you know how loud I'll get if you start tickling me. We'll wake up not only the others but probably the whole place as well." Lucy says holding her hands out and waving them side to side trying to stop him.

"So what? We're leaving this place soon anyways. And right now I care more about cheering my partner and friend up then caring about everyone sleeping." Natsu says as he gets up onto his feet while crouched really low to the ground and begins to slowly make his way towards Lucy who tries to back up but is already against the tree meaning she has nowhere to go.

"W-Wait Natsu. Please don't do this, what about Erza? You want her to hit you?" Lucy asks quickly hoping that the number one thing that terrified him the most would help out. "Nope, don't care." he replies as he inches closer and closer to her, his signature grin on his face in a devilish way. Lucy spread her arms out against the tree, her face bright red as she was shaking in fright for what was about to come, only muttering out the N in Natsu's name as she was completely out of ideas if he wasn't even afraid of Erza beating him up for what he was going to cause. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable as he stopped and began to lean towards her...when suddenly he saw a shimmer of light out of the corner of his eyes to the right and looked that way to see someone walk behind a tree.

He raised an eyebrow wondering if he truly did see something, Lucy was still cringing in wait for her tickle attack, when it never came. Making her open up one eye and then both upon noticing Natsu seemed to be drawn to something to her left and looked that way, there wasn't anyone there. "Natsu? You alright?" Lucy asks, she didn't know why since that would just draw his attention back at her, but she had to make sure he was okay.

"I thought I saw…" Natsu paused, suddenly standing up and walking a few feet away from a confused Lucy when he stopped and looked back at her "Come on, follow me." he says. At first Lucy didn't move, but then for some odd reason, something inside her makes her stand up and walk after him.

* * *

"Natsu, you sure we should be sneaking around here so late at night? People might think we're up to no good." Lucy quietly asks as she followed behind Natsu.

The two soon find themselves in an open area with some stairs leading down into a grassy pit area. "I don't know why. But I just have this feeling that, well just drew me here. Like there was something I had to see." Natsu says as he begins walking down the steps, Lucy hesitates at first but then follows once again. Arriving at the bottom of the steps the two then take notice of an ornate stand with a shallow silver bowl in the middle of the pit, and a small stream nearby, while Lucy looks around the place Natsu walks over to the ornate stand and looks down at the bowl which is filled with water.

"Why do I get the feeling we're not supposed to be here…?" Lucy says to herself.

"Oh! Lucy, come here!" Natsu quietly calls back to her sounding excited for some reason, catching her attention as she wonders why he sounds like that and walks over to him. Natsu is staring into the bowl of water with a happy look on his face "What is it Natsu?" Lucy asks.

"Look in the water! I don't know how but it's showing my past when I was a kid with Igneel!" Natsu says. Lucy looks into the bowl herself, at first she doesn't see anything making her think that Natsu's seeing things, but then an image begins to form in the water making her gasp in shock at what she was seeing.

"You seeing it Lucy? Me as a kid with Igneel?" Natsu asks.

"Um~. No, but...I am seeing my childhood, with my...mom and dad…" Lucy says, becoming a bit saddened but with a smile on her face nonetheless upon seeing the familiar old memories of her childhood growing up with her mother and father when they were both alive.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Are your eyes working or something cause you're seeing something else." Natsu says as he begins pulling Lucy's cheeks for some reason, annoying her as she smacks his hands away. "Of course my eyes are working! I'm just seeing something else, I'm not saying you aren't seeing what you are." Lucy says before looking back down at the bowl. "This bowl or maybe the water must be magical or something. Maybe it can show each person who looks into it their past or something? Maybe it's the stand?" Lucy wonders.

Suddenly Natsu picks the bowl up from the stand, terrifying Lucy who begins whimpering in a panic "Natsu! What are you doing?!" she whisper yells.

"I'm checking to see what's magical here like you wondered." Natsu says looking back at her confused.

"I'm not **that** curious! Now put it back before you break it or something!" Lucy continues to whisper yell.

"Why do you guys always think I'm going to destroy or do something bad? It's not like I cause problems all the time!" Natsu retorts a bit annoyed.

"Because you do! Now put that back before-"

"You young ones continue to intrigue me." a voice suddenly says from behind them. Both Natsu and Lucy cry out in panic as Natsu accidentally throws his arms up into the air and the water bowl with it, releasing it as it flies up into the air before landing on the ground at the feet of someone, the water spilling out upon impact as it lands upside down. Both of them turn around to see Galadriel staring towards them with an amused look on her face for some reason.

"L-Lady Galadriel!" Lucy says shocked to see her there. She then takes notice of the spilled water bowl on the ground "That, that wasn't yours was it? I knew it! Natsu apologize to her!" Lucy angrily says to Natsu.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Natsu quickly and repeatedly says as he gets onto his knees and begins bowing up and down at a fast rate. However instead of an angered or annoyed voice, the two hear a chuckle from Galadriel, making Natsu stop as the two look towards her "I must admit. When I had originally used my powers to call for help, I was not expecting such young, powerful and energetic people as yourselves." Galadriel says.

The two mages stare towards her, suddenly what she just said hits them immediately "Eh~?!" the two cry out.

"W-Wait a minute. YOU called us here? You sent us that request at the guild that brought us here?" Lucy asks, the revelation completely shocking her and Natsu.

Galadriel slowly nods her head "Though I do not know about this "request" you speak of. I simply used my powers to call out for help, the means of which it reached you I do not know. All I do know, is that it seems it was destined to come to you and the rest of your friends, so that you may help us." Galadriel says.

"Not that I don't mind being here and all to help Frodo and the others out. But I'm still trying to wonder why you brought specifically us here?" Natsu asks as he stands back up.

Galadriel crouches down to pick up the bowl in her hands, standing back she walks over to the stream and refills the bowl "It is as I said. I simply used my powers, to try and reach out for help. My call, chose you, mages of Fairy Tail. It seems you are the ones destined to help free Middle-Earth from this time of darkness." Galadriel says as she walks past the two and places the bowl of water back on the ornate stand.

"Wait, so you have magic?" Lucy asks.

"Indeed I do. And it is with my vast magic powers that I used it to call for aid, because if I had not. Then Middle-Earth would have been doomed." Galadriel says as she steps back.

"What makes you think Middle-Earth would've been doomed had we not appeared?" Natsu asks, him and Lucy a bit curious about that. "Why don't you look into my mirror, and see for yourself." Galadriel says gesturing to the water bowl behind the two.

The two look around exactly for a mirror, but don't see one. As Lucy looks back at her, she notices where she's gesturing too and looks at the bowl "Wait, this thing? That's your mirror?" Lucy asks. Galadriel nods her head.

"Never heard of a mirror that's a bowl of water? Wait a second. This thing showed me and Lucy our pasts! How is that?!" Natsu asks realizing it.

"The mirror, shows many things...Things that were...things that are...and some things...that have not yet come to pass." Galadriel says.

"Huh?" Natsu says not understanding what she said, making Lucy sigh. "She means this thing can show us our past, present, and future."

"Oh~!" Natsu says finally understanding it.

"You sure your magic made the right call bringing **us** here? Back in our world we're, sort of known for being a bit...no scratch that **really** destructive. Well at least some of us are and then there's some of us who are just unfortunately included with them because we are a team and everything." Lucy questions.

"My magic makes no mistake. And so far, it seems you have done nothing wrong, yes?" Galadriel says.

"Well, other than destroying a part of that Weathertop place, which was already in ruins to begin with, not really." Lucy answers. Galadriel then gestures back to the mirror, both Natsu and Lucy turn around and look into it. Like before, they saw nothing at first; soon the first image began to form into view.

The image shows what looks like a house built directly into a small green hill with a big round yellow door, it then switches to showing three small green buildings with a bridge nearby as people walk by the three buildings and then shows as six children, 3 boys and 3 girls, run through green fields as what appears to be farmers in the background plant their seeds into the ground. The image then shows as many small people walk about a small town in happiness with people smiling, laughing and talking to their friends.

"Wait a minute, are those...hobbits? Is this the Shire?" Lucy asks looking back up at Galadriel. She doesn't say anything as she watches the two making Lucy look back down at the mirror.

However the happy scene and the green of the grass and buildings…changes into fire and fear as hobbits run in a mass panic with their homes on fire. Natsu and Lucy's faces change into that of horror as they both gasp in shock at what they see, one scene shows an orc shoving a hobbit to the ground and then bring its sword down onto the hobbit as it roars into the air. Lucy covers her mouth as she cannot believe what she is seeing, Natsu just continues to stare with widened eyes. Beneath grey skies and dark hills shouldered with machinery and industry, a line of Hobbits is driven into a mill to work by slave-masterly Orcs. And just then, all of that is replaced by a bright fiery red eye with a black slit down the middle like the pupil of a reptile, it mutters strange words as its bright light reflect off of Natsu and Lucy who are drawn to it, unable to take their eyes off of it as suddenly it roars out _**"FAIRY TAIL!"**_

Natsu finally breaks free from his trance and without a second thought grabs Lucy and brings her into a protective hug while also tearing her look away from the eye as her head falls onto his shoulder and she begins to cry, unable to take in the horrible things she had just seen. Galadriel just looks at the two with a blank expression.

"Sh, sh~, it's okay Lucy. It's okay. Everything's alright." Natsu says trying to calm her down, luckily managing to succeed as she stops crying. Pulling away and nodding a thank you to him as he lets her go, Lucy wiping away the tears in her eyes as Natsu angrily stares at Galadriel "Hey! What the hell was that crap?!" he demands, not liking what he saw as well as the fact it made Lucy cry.

"That, is what will become of the Shire. If Frodo fails. Not just his home, but all of Middle-Earth, will burn and turn into darkness if Sauron takes back, what is his. That...is why I sent out the call for help, so that it won't come to pass. You should know yourselves, that the future is not written in stone. And that it can be changed." Galadriel says.

Hearing this shocked Natsu and Lucy, almost as if she was able to read their minds since they literally just dealt with a situation involving changing the future to prevent a terrible thing from happening...one which saw everyone, their friends, dying. "Help Middle-Earth. Help its people in their time of need, and your reward for your quest, will be you returning to your home." Galadriel says.

"That eye...was that...him?" Lucy asks as Galadriel nods her head. "That, is all that remains of Sauron. His soul. Reincarnated as the Great Eye. But once the Ring is destroyed, he will be vanquished. Once...and for all." Galadriel says.

Natsu brings up his right fist and lights it aflame as he grits his teeth "You don't even need to ask us. If that big eye of his can see and hear all, then I might as well let him know, that he's messing with the wrong people. If Sauron wants his ring, this world so badly. He'll have to get through the mages of Fairy Tail first." Natsu says in an angered, and determined tone.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

Isengard...once full of green grassy fields and trees...was now but a barren wasteland with many deep pits from which the smokes of war rise out from, the Orcs of Isengard constantly at work building weapons and preparing for what was to come. The tower of Orthanc in the middle of it all.

"Do you know how the Orcs first came into being?" Saruman, the white wizard asked the new creature before him in the main room of the tower. An Uruk-Hai, a larger, smarter orc with slanted eyes, thick legs, and large hands, the one before him had muddy-brown skin with long, dark, wild hair hanging down past his shoulders and down his back, a few strands going down his face. "They were Elves once. Taken by the Dark Powers...tortured, and mutilated." Saruman continue to say as he walked steadily around the Uruk who continued to growl, but listen. His eyes following Saruman as he walked by in front of him, his mouth always open to show his sharp teeth.

"A ruined and terrible form of life. And now...perfected. My fighting Uruk-hai...whom do you serve?" Saruman questions stopping to his left.

Saruman!" the Uruk-hai says, his voice echoing in the room.

 _In the Caverns below Isengard…_

The Uruk now had a white hand-print going down his face, the hand was facing the opposite direction as the palm was on its forehead and the fingers going down his face as he roared out. However, there were now many other Uruk-hai with red skin, the same white handprints being placed on their own faces, the symbol of Saruman's army, as they were also being fitted with armor and weapons by the orcs.

Once they were all ready, the Uruk-hai gathered together in a great cavern below a high balcony with Saruman on it "Hunt them down. Do not stop until they are found. You do not know pain, you do not know fear. You will taste Man-flesh!" Saruman says, causing the Uruks to roar out and raise their swords and shields into the air and shake them. Saruman then turned to the Uruk behind him who would be the leader of this large group, Lurtz. "One of the halflings carries something of great value. Bring them to me alive, and unspoiled. But it is not just them. There seem to be some rather...gifted young men and women among this group, you will bring at least two of them to me, the same condition as the halflings. Kill the others." Saruman says.


	6. Gifts, and a Broken Fellowship!

The mists of the early morning lay heavily along the river; bare-branched trees arch through the fog, stray beams of light falling on the water. A small elegant ship floats out on the river slowly, carved in the likeness of a swan as Galadriel stands silently in it, clothed in all white. On the shore, dark green/grayish cloaks are fastened around the Fellowship members with green, silver-veined leaf-brooches, even the Fairy Tail mages receive their own around them. "Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people. May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes." Celeborn says after fastening one of the cloaks to Boromir as he and the other elves with him take a step back.

The elves help the Fellowship prepare for their departure, six small boats given to them as Legolas helps load some parcels onto one of the boats where Merry and Pippin currently sit watching him. From one of the parcels Legolas pulls out a thin piece of bread "Lembas. Elvish waybread." Legolas says as he then takes a very, very small bite off the corner. "One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man." Legolas explains as the two nod their heads understanding him.

"Eh? Really?" Wendy says in awe as she and Carla wait in their boat and overhear this.

"What in the world do they put in that bread to make that even possible?" Carla wonders with a raised eyebrow.

Wrapping the bread back up and placing the bag into the boat, Legolas walks away as Merry scoots closer to Pippin and asks "How many did you eat?"

"Four." Pippin replies without showing any care for having done so, suddenly burping loudly even with his mouth closed.

Lucy, who has her pigtails back up, stares at the two with her eyes narrowed as she sits in her boat, Natsu and Happy finish loading the boat as Natsu steps in and sits down in front of her with Happy flying behind her to sit in the boat "Natsu, how many of those breads did you eat this morning?" Lucy asks him as he turns around.

Natsu giving his signature grin with his eyes closed then replies "Fifteen. And man were they delicious!" Natsu says rubbing his stomach as Lucy sighs and closes her eyes. "One small bite is enough to fill a full grown man...unfortunately it takes fifteen to feed the never-ending stomach of Natsu…" Lucy says. She then opens her eyes "It's a good thing we packed extra just for you and Gajeel since you two have some serious appetite problems somehow. But if we start running low we're cutting you two off no matter what you say!" Lucy says.

"Eh?! Why you gotta be so mean, Lucy?" Natsu pouts.

"I'm trying to make sure we have enough food the really long journey ahead!" Lucy angrily states.

"What can I say, they may be filling but one bite isn't enough for me, or one bread alone." Natsu says turning away and closing his eyes as he shrugs.

"Every league you travel south, the danger will increase. Mordor Orcs now hold the eastern shore of the Anduin. Nor will you find safety on the western bank. Strange creatures bearing the White Hand have been seen on our borders, seldom do Orcs journey in the open under the sun yet these have done so." Celeborn explains to Aragorn as they walk together while the others board the boats and get ready to depart.

As they stop Celeborn raises his hands and presents a sheathed elven dagger to Aragorn who takes it, unsheathing the blade to look at it _"You are being tracked."_ Celeborn whispers as Aragorn looks back up at him. "By river you have the chance of outrunning the enemy to the Falls of Rauros."

A paddle splashes into the water. The Fellowship rows through the river, past the Elves onshore. The sun begins to rise, the rays of it breaching through the trees and the mist. The Fellowship is separated into six boats, one carrying Legolas who paddles and Gimli, Aragorn, Sam, and Frodo in another with Aragorn paddling, Boromir, Merry, and Pippin with the paddler being Boromir. Natsu paddles his boat, Wendy having of used Troia on him so he could last as Lucy and Happy sit behind him as Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, and Lily are in another with Gajeel paddling it, the same with Troia as well, finally is Erza and Gray in the other with Erza paddling for now though the two will switch from time to time.

As the Fellowship and Team Natsu row away in the boats, all of them begin to reminisce their parting gifts from Galadriel since they all received something from her individually besides the cloaks and brooches they all got. Legolas had received a bow of the Galadhrim, Merry and Pippin had both received daggers of the Noldorin, Sam had received Elven rope, Boromir a solid gold belt, Gimli asked for nothing except to look upon Galadriel one last time...and have a strand of her hair which he got three. Aragorn received the hunting knife from Celeborn, Galadriel saying she had nothing better to give him since he already had his in the form of an elfstone gem around his neck, given to him by his lover Arwen before he left Rivendell, and as for Frodo, he received something called the Phial of Galadriel, a crystal phial filled with water from her fountain that could be used to light up dark places.

As for the members of Team Natsu…

 _Flashback…_

"You are a skilled warrior, Panther Lily. For the times where your magic fails you, may you rely upon this. A dagger of the Noldorin, much like young Merry and Peregrin's, it has already seen service in war. A mighty warrior can never be too careful, should their main weapon be lost during the heat of battle, it is always best to carry a reserved weapon, no matter the size." Galadriel says as she crouches down and presents a sheathed dagger to Lily who takes it. Unsheathing it to get a look at it before sheathing it back as he bows forward and says "Thank you, Lady Galadriel. It will serve me well."

Galadriel stands up and walks to Gajeel, turning around and receiving something from one of her elves as she turns back to Gajeel and holds what appears to be a stringed instrument in her hands. "I have heard that you fancy yourself as quite a musician and singer, Gajeel Redfox. And as such, my gift to you, is this elven Gittern. May even the darkest of times, be soothed over by your calming tune." Galadriel says. Suddenly loud and annoyed groans erupt from the rest of Team Natsu who are not a single bit pleased at the gift she has given Gajeel as the looks on their faces say it all. "Why you bastards…" Gajeel calmly and quietly says in an annoyed tone.

Galadriel with a humorous smile on her face then moves over to Carla. Receiving her gift from an elf behind her and crouching down to present to her a dark green-colored ribbon "For you, young Carla. This beautiful ribbon, made of the best materials we elves use for our clothing. May it help your beauty radiate to those closest to you." Galadriel says.

"T-Thank you Lady Galadriel." Carla says with a slight blush on her cheeks, feeling a bit embarrassed by her saying that as she takes it and bows forward in respect. Galadriel next moves to Wendy "Wendy Marvell, so young, and yet so strong, beautiful, and courageous. My gift to you, are these golden armbands, engraved with the symbol of your guild on it. So that in times when you are searching for your lost courage, it serves as a reminder for you that your comrades, and friends are always with you, by your side when you need them the most." Galadriel says as she hands the young Dragon Slayer two golden armbands, the Fairy Tail symbol on two sides of it.

"Thank you Lady Galadriel." Wendy says bowing forward.

Galadriel then walks in front of Erza "Erza Scarlet. You will find in the world of Men of Middle-Earth, that the thought of a woman, especially one as young and beautiful as yourself, bearing arms to fight is nigh unheard of and even frowned upon. However, I believe that any you encounter on this journey, will soon find themselves corrected by your immense strength and skills in combat. May you prove to be the beacon of hope, for women all around this world, that even they can fight as long as they have the will to do so. My present to you, are these two Elven Swords." Galadriel says as she presents to Erza two curved Elven swords. Erza takes them by the hilts and examines them both, the crossguards bend downwards, on the crossguards seemed to be elven inscriptions and then on the round pommels was the symbol of Fairy Tail engraved on them.

"Thank you for these wonderful weapons, Lady Galadriel." Erza says as she sends the two swords into the dimension where she keeps her other weapons and armor to use for later.

Galadriel nods her head and then walks to Gray. "Gray Fullbuster, my gift to you, is this golden belt, the symbol of your guild engraved on the buckle. Perhaps, it might help you with your strange habit." Galadriel says with a humorous smile on her face as she presents the belt to Gray. This of course causes the other Fairy Tail mages to snort really loudly, all of them trying their best to contain their explosive laughter's that were dying to be released at this hilarious scene. Gray had an embarrassed look on his face with his teeth gritted together into an embarrassed grin "Uh t-thank you Lady Galadriel." Gray says, any other person he would've beat the shit out of or at least yelled at them. But someone like her, he couldn't do that to as he accepts the gift.

Galadriel then moves on to Happy "Little Happy. Always so full of energy and trying to brighten up the people around you, you really do deserve your name. For you, my gift is a tasty one that you might really enjoy. The most rarest of fish of Middle-Earth, caught from the Celebrant River. One bite alone, will fill your stomach up for a long time, so that you may savor it for the long journey ahead." Galadriel says as she presents a long, silver fish to Happy. His eyes widening and drool already escaping from his mouth as he takes it and looks back up at her with sparkling eyes "Thank you! Thank you Lady Galadriel! This is the best gift ever!" he yells in joy making her chuckle in amusement.

Next, was Lucy. "Lucy Heartfilia, what better gift to give to you. Then these books, one with our language, the rest full of Elven tales, both real, and imaginative. For someone who enjoys literature so much, and hopes to be one herself someday. Perhaps these can be used for it, or even help inspire future stories of yours one day." Galadriel says as she gestures to two of her Elven people who walk up with stacks of books in their hands and lay them down before her. Lucy's eyes widened in marvel, she couldn't wait to start reading all of those, and with the language book as well, maybe even allow Levy to read them as well since she would be excited about reading books from a different world. Of course with there being so many she wouldn't be able to carry them, so once everything was done she was going to call Capricorn and have him store these books in the Celestial Spirit World until she had the time to read them.

 _Flashback Ends…_

As Natsu paddled down the river, Lucy was currently reading one of the books excitedly, of course not using the magic glasses since she wanted to savor the reading of these tales. Natsu continued to paddle the boat down the river, he seemed to be in deep thought about something, more specifically, his gift from Galadriel.

 _Flashback…_

Galadriel dismissed the others so that they can start getting ready, Lucy summoned Capricorn and had him bring the books to the Celestial Spirit World to keep them there for now as she then walked off. Natsu was a bit confused on why she dismissed them before he got his own gift, he was a bit worried it was because of last night when he accidentally threw her "mirror" into the air and spilled it all over the ground. "Do not worry, Natsu Dragneel. I am not mad at you for last night, rather, I'd like to give you your gift in secret. Because it will serve a purpose, very soon that you should keep a secret from the others, until that time." Galadriel says.

Natsu is still confused, though this time on what she means by that as she then presents to him what is most likely his gift. A medium-large sized, heart-shaped, golden pendant necklace? She does not say anything as Natsu takes it from her and looks at it, he notices it's one of those that can be opened as he presses the small switch on the side to do so, but for some reason it does not open. "Not really into jewelry or anything Lady Galadriel. Even then I think this thing's broken or something. I can't open it." Natsu says holding the pendant up and pointing at it.

"As I said Natsu. It will serve a purpose very soon, and when you realize it, you will be able to open it." Galadriel says.

 _Flashback Ends…_

Natsu had placed the thing in his backpack which was in front of him. He was wondering what was inside this pendant that could "serve a purpose" for him later down the journey. Was there some kind of magic fire in there or something that could help him when he's out of energy fighting a powerful foe or something? But if that was the case, why give it to him in a heart-shaped pendant? Some kind of necklace he could understand since maybe it was small so he could always carry it around without problem, but heart-shaped? He would've preferred a dragon or something cool...no yeah definitely a dragon shape, but then again history with dragons in this world was bad so he could understand. But still anything but a heart would've been better.

"Hey Natsu!" Happy called to him as he turned and look back at him.

"What did Lady Galadriel give to you as a gift?" Happy asks, Lucy hearing this then perked up from her book and looked at him "Oh yeah. What did she give you since she dismissed up before we saw her give you something?" Lucy asks.

"Oh, she gave me a glass bottle filled with some magic water or something that would supposedly get rid of my motion sickness for a long time with just a single drop. Don't know why I need it when we got Wendy but hey, if it gets rid of my motion sickness I'll take it if Wendy can't cast her Troia on me or something." Natsu says, lying since he didn't exactly want to tell them he got a pendant necklace since that sounded stupid, as well as the fact that Galadriel said to keep it a secret from the others for some reason.

* * *

The Fellowship passes out onto a larger branch of the Anduin River beneath sheer cliffs. And for hours they row the six boats along the river. Aragorn at the front, followed by Erza, Boromir, Natsu, Gajeel, and Legolas. However, unknown to the Fellowship the Uruk-hai run at full speed through the forests near the river. As the Fellowship continues down the river something draws Legolas's attention coming from the forest, almost as if he can sense the Uruk-hai as Lurtz also looks in his direction as if he can sense them as well. Back with the Fellowship a crow suddenly caws into the wind, catching everyone's attention as they feel like the crow was cawing for a reason, like something was wrong…very wrong in the forest.

Night falls eventually, and just in time since the Troia had just given out on Natsu and Gajeel. Luckily they shouldn't be far now from where they're supposed to make land and continue to Mordor from there meaning Wendy could cast Troia again on them tomorrow without worrying about the effects wearing down since she wouldn't need to cast it on them again for a long time. They make land on a small island to rest for the night, while the Fellowship members keep their elven cloaks on, Natsu and the others put theirs away in the backpacks while Erza sends hers to her dimension.

"Really? She was the one who summoned us here?" Erza quietly asks Natsu and Lucy, the two having of told her and the others about what had occurred last night.

Lucy nods her head "Yeah. She used her magic to reach out and call for help, it wasn't us specifically she sent the call to. It was just by some luck or something that her magic sent the message to us in the form of that request paper." Lucy answers.

"So pretty much, once we finish destroying the ring her magic should send us back to Earthland. Right?" Gray asks.

"That's what she said." Natsu says.

"Tch, well, considering how long this little journey's gonna take. And not to mention the amount of trouble we might run into, we're gonna be here a while." Gajeel says.

"I really hope it doesn't take us seven years or more to destroy this ring. I'm already starting to miss home and the others." Wendy says.

"Don't worry Wendy, I'm sure it won't take that long. At the most I'm guessing a few more months it'll take for us to complete this job, taking into consideration the trouble we might run into along the way." Erza says.

"And who knows, if we can keep ourselves from getting into a fight, we might just be able to complete this even faster." Carla says.

"Aye!" Happy agrees.

"Highly doubt it's going to be that easy. No way is Sauron or any of his forces going to let us get close to Mordor without causing us problems. They're gonna try and locate us with everything they got before they let us even a mile near their land." Lily says.

"Well either way, I'm definitely not going to let what me and Lucy saw in that mirror come true. This Sauron wants to rule Middle-Earth so badly, he's going to have to go through me." Natsu states.

"He's gonna have to go through all of us you mean. I agree, if what you told us about what could happen if Sauron gets his ring back is true, then we must not let that happen. No matter what. Not only would failing this be a disgrace to Fairy Tail's name, but all the people that would suffer under is rule, it must not happen!" Erza says.

The others nod their heads in agreement, they were not going to let Sauron get back the One Ring and gain control over this land and its people.

"Erza, it is your turn for watch duty." Legolas says as he walks over.

Some minutes pass by as Erza stands on guard duty, hiding behind a tall massive rock as she peered out around it keeping her eyes peeled for signs of movement along the river, or the other side of the bank. Just then she spotted something, a small log floating down the river, before she could move her attention elsewhere seeing the log as nothing but debris, the slightest sight of movement on the log brought her attention back to it. What appeared to be small hands on the log caught her attention as she prepared to requip into her Black Wing Armor to fly and take out whatever or whoever was on it as it could very well be a spy of Sauron. When all of a sudden she sees the top of a head which is barely visible over the log's edge and glinting eyes, upon narrowing her eyes to try and get a better view of what it was, she realizes that whatever the creature is, it is no Orc.

She doesn't know what to make of the strange thing, when Aragorn appears behind her "Gollum. He has tracked us since Moria." Aragorn says, the two watch as then the small log gets stuck on some small rocks on the other bank. "I had hoped we would lose him on the river...But he's too clever a waterman."

"Gollum, me and the others heard that name back in Moria. Who is he?" Erza asks while still keeping her eyes on the log. The other Fairy Tail members decide to listen in as they sit around their campfire nearby, the other Fellowship members around another one.

"Gollum…or Sméagol as he was once called was a Stoor. One of the three early types of Hobbits. He was the one who found the One Ring after it escaped from Isildur…the ring drove him mad for years to come and gave him eternal life exceeding many other hobbits from his time. It was Frodo's uncle Bilbo who had stolen the Ring from him, and here we are now. Gollum hunts for the Ring as he calls it his "precious" and follows us in hopes of reclaiming it." Aragorn says.

"Is he dangerous?" Erza asks.

"We do not have to fear him. He is of no danger to us. He is neither armed, nor skilled in combat. He knows he can't do anything to us. Which is why he keeps his distance. The only time he would strike, is if Frodo was separated from us, all he cares about is getting the Ring back from Frodo." Aragorn says.

Boromir then stands up and walks over to them "He may not be in that sense. But what if he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts? It will make the crossing even more dangerous." Boromir says.

"If he's trying to reclaim the Ring for himself I highly doubt he'd do that since then he'd risk them getting the ring." Erza says.

"True, but at the same time he could use the confusion of the fight to take it from us, or even drag Frodo away to take it from him in safety." Boromir says, Frodo listening in on the conversation as he then hears Sam speak up from behind him. He had a troubled look on his face for some reason.

"Have some food Mr. Frodo."

"No Sam." Frodo replies.

"You haven't eaten anything all day. You're not sleeping neither. Don't think I haven't noticed." Sam says as he stands up and walks over to him "Mr. Frodo-"

"I'm all right." Frodo says cutting him off as Sam kneels down beside him with a worried look on his face "But you're not. I'm here to help you. I promised Gandalf that I would." Sam says.

Frodo then turns and looks at him, a pained look on his face "You can't help me Sam...Not this time...Get some sleep." Frodo says.

"I know something that might help. How about a little music?" Gajeel says suddenly bringing out his Gittern.

"That's the last thing **anyone** needs right now!" Gray yells as he and Natsu have annoyed looks on their faces.

"That ain't going to help anyone! If anything it and that crappy voice of yours are going to hurt someone!" Natsu yells.

"You bastards! I got this damn thing for a reason and I'm going to play it if it's the last thing I do! At least Lady Galadriel sees some potential in me! Besides it's better than a damn belt that's for sure stripper-head!" Gajeel angrily yells back.

Before the three can argue anymore Erza comes over and punches all three of them in the back of the head, leaving big bruising bumps on them as they lie on the ground in pain holding their heads "You morons keep on yelling and you'll attract every enemy from hundreds of miles around. Now go to bed!" Erza orders.

 _The Next Morning…_

The Fellowship continued to row down the river; vast quarries line the cliffs to either side of them. Soon the Fellowship come across two gigantic and majestic statues as they look up in awe at the towering splendor of the Argonath. The two statues carved right out of the rock of the cliffs, proudly stand on each side of the Anduin, their left arms are held aloft, their palms facing outwards in gesture of warning. Solemn and stern are their faces, the silent wardens of a long vanished kingdom.

"Wow~. Amazing." Happy says.

"If I read this right back in one of those history books of Middle-Earth back at Rivendell, I think these statues were used to mark the northern part of the realm of Gondor. The statues of the Argonath, known as the Gates of Argonath or the Pillar of Kings because they were carved in the likeness of Isildur and Anarion. Unfortunately, a lot has changed since then and Gondor lost a lot of its lands, reducing it to what it is today." Lucy says explaining it to the members of Team Natsu as they rowed their boats close to each other.

The Fellowship rows past the statues towards a massive, roaring waterfall. On either side of the falls, the land rises in two hilltops crowned by distant ruins. They make land on a gravel beach and begin to disembark, Boromir looks troubled for some reason as he doesn't get out of his boat, and Frodo glances at him, looking perturbed. The Fellowship begins to make camp, a fire pit gets started as Aragorn begins to unload some things from his boat while Legolas looks into the forest, a concerned look on his face.

"We cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north." Aragorn says.

Gimli who is sitting down smoking hears this and looks at Aragorn "Oh, yes? Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better!" Gimli says, Pippin looks up at Gimli alarmed as he listens in.

"Festering, stinking marshlands, far as the eye can see!" Gimli says.

"That is our road. I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf." Aragorn says.

"Recover my-!" Gimli stops himself and just grumbles, annoyed.

"These places don't sound so tough when we got ourselves some Exceed who can easily fly and scout a road for us to take!" Natsu says.

"If only it were that easy. But we cannot rely on Happy and the others as we get closer to Mordor, the last thing we need is hidden enemy scouts or worse, Sauron to see them. Making them know where we are coming from." Aragorn says. Legolas then turns away from the forest and quickly walks over to Aragorn "We should leave now." he says, as if warning him that they should.

"No. Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness." Aragorn replies.

Legolas looks back into the forest, a troubled look on his face "It is not the eastern shore that worries me. A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near, I can feel it." Legolas says.

Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers overhear this and look out into the forest as well, they had been getting some strange feelings themselves. Feelings that they were being followed, not by Gollum, but by something else deep in the forest. Merry drops a handful of logs for the fire for later on as Gimli continues to grumble in an annoyed tone "Recover strength? Pay no heed to that, young hobbit." Gimli says.

As Merry stands back up and looks around, he notices something. "Where's Frodo?" Everyone hears this, Sam, who was half-dozing, rouses with worry, Aragorn looks over the camp. The members of Team Natsu look around and do not see Frodo anywhere either.

"What the? How the hell did we just lose our most important member?" Gray questions in shock and fear.

"Frodo?!" Lucy calls out, garnering no response unfortunately. As Natsu looks around, he then takes notice of Boromir's shield lying with his baggage. He narrows his eyes, ever since that incident on Caradhras where Boromir looked at Frodo's Ring, he's been keeping a close watch on him, just getting a really bad vibe off of him following that for some reason. "Not just Frodo, where's Boromir?" he questions.

Sam quickly gets up and runs off into the forest to search for him before any of the others can stop him.

"We need to split up, cover more ground to find both of them quickly. Gray, Gajeel, with me. Lucy and Wendy will be another group, Merry and Pippin, Legolas and Gimli, and Natsu and Aragorn. Happy, Lily, Carla, take the air and if any of you see anything, try and find a way to signal the rest of us." Erza says.

 _Deep in the Forest…_

Frodo wanders around in the forest all by himself. He stands by an immense stone head, lying with its side on the ground. Suddenly Boromir appears gathering wood in his arms "None of us should wander alone. You least of all. So much depends on you...Frodo?" Boromir says, Frodo just staring at him as he suddenly stops and just looks at him.

There is a long silence between the two, Frodo turning slightly away from him as Boromir begins to slowly approach him "I know why you seek solitude. You suffer, I see it day by day. You sure you do not suffer needlessly?" Boromir asks, Frodo looking back up at him with a blank stare on his face. "There are other ways, Frodo. Other paths that we might take."

"I know what you would say. It would seem like wisdom but for the warning in my heart." Frodo says.

"Warning? Against what?" Boromir asks as he approaches Frodo, Frodo moves to his left, trying to keep his distance from him. "We're all afraid, Frodo. But to let that fear drive us, to destroy what hope we have, don't you see that is madness?" Boromir says beginning to follow after him as Frodo continues to back away, his voice seeming to get a bit angrier in tone for some reason.

"There is no other way." Frodo says.

Boromir stops at first, before then continues walking towards him "I ask only for the strength to defend my people!" Boromir says with the anger now rising in his voice as he throws the wood to the ground frightening Frodo. "If you would but lend me the Ring-"

Frodo quickly takes a step back "No!" he says.

"Why do you recoil? I am no thief." Boromir questions.

"You are not yourself." Frodo says trying to reason with him. Indeed though, Boromir was not acting like himself and Frodo had a good idea on why. Boromir stops and stares at him "What chance do you think you have? They will find you. They will take the Ring. And you will beg for death before the end!" Boromir says.

At this point, Frodo knew it was no use and so turned around and began to walk away. This only seemed to anger Boromir even more "You fool!" Boromir yells as he slowly begins to give chase, picking up speed into a fast walk towards Frodo who turns around to see this with fright "It is not yours save by unhappy chance!" Frodo begins to try and run away, tripping over but recovering quickly as Boromir quickens his pace after him. "It could have been mine! It should be mine! Give it to me!" Boromir yells as he tackles Frodo to the ground, Frodo managing to crawl away quickly but is grabbed again by Boromir as Frodo turns around, Boromir now on top of him with full on hate clear in his eyes.

"Give it to me!" Boromir demands, Frodo trying his best to keep the Ring out of Boromir's hands as he yells "No!"

"Give it to me!" Boromir demands again.

"No!" Frodo again yells slipping the Ring on to make him disappear. Boromir is confused by this thinking he had teleported away, only to receive a kick by an invisible Frodo knocking him back a bit as the leaves then rustle away from him indicating Frodo running away. By the time he recovers, he is unable to hear anything meaning that Frodo was no longer in the area as he begins looking around with a crazed look in his eyes "I see your mind. You will take the Ring to Sauron! You will betray us! You'll go to your death, and the death of us all! Curse you! Curse you, and all the Halflings!" Boromir yells as he stands up, suddenly slipping and falling back to the ground again as he cries out in pain.

Boromir breathes very fast, leaves in his hair as he begins to pick himself back up slowly "Frodo?" he whimpers out...in sadness? He swallows his breathe in and begins to look around, a saddened and terrified look on his face, it appeared that the madness that was inside him from the Ring was now gone. And he had just realized what he had done, he began to whimper and cry, tears forming in his eyes "Frodo? What have I done? Please, Frodo."

 _Elsewhere in the Forest…_

Wendy turned around with a "Huh?" Lucy heard this and looked back at her. "What is it Wendy?" Lucy asks.

"I heard Boromir-sans voice! Over-" however she then stopped and gasped.

"What is it now?" Lucy asks, not liking the sudden gasp she just did. Wendy then turned around "We're not alone!" she says as she gets into a battle ready stance. Just then two Uruk-hai jump out from some bushes towards the two.

 _Elsewhere..._

" _Frodo I'm sorry!"_ Is what Frodo hears but pays no attention to it as he is in the "shadow world," running up some stairs onto the top of some kind of ruin. He gets behind a stone seat with four winged creatures that are distorted in the shadow world coming out from the corners of it, he then looks over the stone seat and sees the Dark Tower from afar. The image rushes towards him and once at the foot of the tower begins rise to its pinnacle where the burning Eye of Sauron stares back menacingly, the Dark Lord speaking to the young hobbit in black speech. Frodo, quickly rushes to remove the Ring, but as he does so and returns to the real world, he falls off the top of the ruin and lands on his back beneath it. He breathes heavily while on the ground before pushing himself up and looking around at his surroundings.

He was at the top of a hilltop summit, the ruin almost serving as some kind of lookout post perhaps back in the old days as it seemed like it could see for miles around. "Frodo?"

Frodo turns around in a panic, but then calms down upon seeing it was Aragorn. "It has taken Boromir." Frodo says.

"Where is the Ring?" Aragorn suddenly asks.

"Stay away!" Frodo cries out in a panic, now thinking that it has corrupted Aragorn as well as he scrambles back before turning around, and getting up into a run as Aragorn quickly runs after him. Suddenly Natsu appears running before him "Frodo?" he says forcing him to stop underneath the ruins at the stairs. "Hey, you alright? What about the Ring?" Natsu asks taking a step forward.

"Stay back! Both of you!" Frodo yells as he finds himself trapped between the two who stop in their tracks and stare at him, worried looks on their faces. Frodo's eyes widened, now believing that even Natsu was being taken over by the power of the Ring. "Frodo!"

"We swore to protect you." Aragorn says trying to calm him down.

"That's right. What the hell has you so scared?" Natsu asks. It was obvious he was terrified of something, whatever happened with Boromir that the two did not see, all they knew was that "it took him," was he talking about the Ring corrupting Boromir?

"Can you protect me from yourselves?" was all Frodo asked them, looking back and forth between them as he then opened up his palm to reveal the Ring. It had…

The Ring had corrupted Boromir, most likely that's why Frodo was as he was as the two realized it. "Would you destroy it?" Frodo questions. Aragorn takes a step forward, his eyes still on the Ring as was Natsu's, though he stood still. The Ring began to whisper to both of them.

" _Aragorn...Aragorn...Elessar…"_

" _Natsu...Natsu...Dragneel…"_

Aragorn began to slowly walk towards Frodo, however, suddenly Natsu walked over to Frodo and grabbed the Ring right from his hand without a second thought. Making both Frodo and Aragorn look up at him with worried faces, Natsu held the Ring between his thumb and index finger and appeared to be examining it, after a few tense seconds Natsu finally spoke "Man who knew a Ring could be so damn annoying? Seriously is there any way to shut this damn thing up?"

Natsu then tossed the Ring to Aragorn who caught it, a bit taken back by how casually Natsu handled it and seemed to just ignore whatever the Ring was saying to him, any man who held the Ring in their hands, would likely of been corrupted almost immediately just like Isildur was all those years. Turning back to Frodo, Aragorn knelt down and placed the Ring back into Frodo's palm and closed it. "Like I'd ever listen to some stupid Ring and let it drive me crazy. That's the last thing anyone or anything will ever make me do is make me hurt any of my friends." Natsu says.

"I would have gone with you to the end. Into the very fires of Mordor." Aragorn says, pushing Frodo's hand back into his chest as Frodo looks at him and then back at Natsu who nods with him. "I know."

Frodo then looks at Aragorn "Look after the others. Especially Sam. He will not understand." Frodo says. Natsu becomes confused at first hearing this, but then widens his eyes upon understanding what Frodo meant by that. Taking a step forward to say something, he stops in his tracks "Aragorn!" Natsu says looking past him.

Aragorn looks down for some reason "Go Frodo!" he says with haste as he then stands up and unsheathes his sword. Frodo is confused at first but then looks down and pulls Sting out a bit to see it glowing, there were Orcs near! Frodo looks back up at Aragorn, a hesitant look on his face at first as Natsu runs up to his side and ignites both of his fists aflame. "Run." Aragorn says, but when he doesn't move he yells this time "Run!" Frodo finally listens and begins to run away.

* * *

Aragorn and Natsu walk out from the ruins and see before them a massive group of Uruk-Hai, all of them roaring and screeching towards the two "Well, these guys look new." Natsu says.

The two slowly walk towards the Uruk-hai, a few of them begin charging towards them as Aragorn raises his sword up to his face. "Hmph, let's see what they got." Natsu says, one Uruk-hai has Aragorn's attention as among the massive group is Lurtz who stares back at him.

The first Uruk comes within range of Aragorn as it swings its sword down at him, Aragorn dodges to his left and swings his sword into the back of the Uruk cutting it down as another one attacks him as well. Aragorn blocks the sword and bashes him on the head before moving to another Uruk and slashing him down; Natsu ducks underneath another Uruks sword and delivers a flaming uppercut **"Fire Dragon's Claw!"** Natsu yells as he jumps up sideways, lighting his feet on fire and delivering a spinning kick to three charging Uruk-hai in front of him sending them flying back. Aragorn continues cutting down Uruk-hai while Natsu punches and kicks them with his enhanced strength and fire attacks, the numbers of them were massive though as they attempted to move around the two to surround them.

Somewhere else in the forest Sam searches frantically for Frodo "Mr. Frodo!" he yells, suddenly hearing the sound of the fighting as he turns and looks towards it with worry.

Knowing the enemy was trying to surround them from all sides to overrun them, Aragorn and Natsu quickly retreat back to the ruin and make their way up the stairs as more Uruks give chase after them. The two turn around as Aragorn blocks one Uruks sword, allowing Natsu to then kick him back as Aragorn then knocks another Uruks sword into the structure and then slashes down it, Natsu dodges another sword and punches the Uruk across the face. The two retreat to the top as they both turn around again and continue fighting the chasing Uruk-hai.

"Find the halfling! Find the halfling!" Lurtz yells out to the rest of his troops as they all rush forward and begin to head in the direction Frodo went, who is continuing to run through the forest as Lurtz's yell echoed through it, more Uruk-hai are already in the forest running in the direction Frodo is. Aragorn hearing this then runs to the edge of the ruin **"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells as he sends his fire roar attack down at the remaining Uruks on the stairs taking them all out in a small explosion that explodes outwards through the openings around the pillars.

"Elendil!" Aragorn yells as he jumps off the ruin onto two Uruk-hai, knocking them to the ground as he quickly turns around in time to drive his sword into a charging Uruk-hai, just as another Uruk is shot with an arrow. As the smoke from the ruins disperse, Legolas, Gimli, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel appear from it, Legolas already with another arrow pulled back on his bow as he releases it to take out another Uruk as Gimli throws an axe into another. Erza requips her two elven swords into her hands and swings them both forward, cutting across another Uruk **"Ice Make Arrows!"** Gray yells as he creates a giant crossbow of ice which shoots out a barrage of ice arrows from it into more Uruk-hai.

Gajeel extends his club into an Uruks chest sending it flying back into a few more behind it knocking them all to the ground. As another Uruk comes from his left Natsu jumps down onto it knocking it to the ground with a flaming kick, Gimli slams his two-sided battle axe into another Uruk as Aragorn stabs another with his elven dagger. "Aragorn, go!" Legolas yells.

"Natsu! With him!" Erza yells.

The two comply without question and head off to go after the Uruks chasing Frodo while the others continue to take down the remaining Uruk-hai on the summit, Gimli taking out another Uruk with a swing of his axe while Legolas shoots another Uruk, the arrow goes through its chest and into another Uruk directly behind it as they both fall down together. Erza raises her left sword to block another Uruk's attack and then drives the other sword into its chest, Gajeel transforms his right arm into a sword and swings it at the same time across a charging Uruk from his right as Gray puts his hands together again **"Ice Make Knuckle!"** Gray yells slamming his hands into the ground and summoning a group of giant ice knuckle that appear from the ground in front of him and extend forward slamming into a large group of Uruks sending them flying. Legolas takes out another arrow but stabs a charging Uruk in the face with it before pulling it back on the bow and firing it at another one.

As Frodo looks back while running, he trips over a tree root and falls forward onto his back. A group of Uruks run through the forest when suddenly Aragorn appears in front of them to their right, swinging his sword at the leg of the Uruk in the lead sending it flipping forward to the ground as Natsu comes in and jump kicks another Uruk with both of his flaming feet into a tree trunk breaking its back. Frodo scrambles up onto his feet, quickly getting behind a nearby tree to hide from the incoming Uruk-hai. Aragorn is thrown back into the wall of a ruined archway, driving his dagger into another Uruk as it attempts to attack him and punches it across the face into the opposite wall **"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"** Natsu yells as he ignites both of his arms in streaming fire as he then spins around to blow away all of the Uruk-hai around him into the air.

" **Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells as he slams his fist into the face of an Uruk sending it crashing into and breaking apart a ruined pillar sticking out of the ground.

Frodo pushes himself up against the tree, just as a few Uruks run by and fail to notice him luckily. Just then, across from him Merry and Pippin slowly pop their heads up from between two fallen tree trunks with some bushes around to hide them. "Frodo!" Merry quietly yells getting his attention as Frodo catches his breath and turns his head to see them.

The two then quickly gesture to him to come to them "Hide here, quick! Come on!" Pippin quietly yells.

Frodo looks at them, as Merry looks back he narrows his eyes in a worried look, Pippin doesn't understand why he's staying there as he looks at Merry and asks "What's he doing?" Frodo then shakes his head and Merry somehow understands what he's about to do "He's leaving…" Merry replies, a shocked look comes to Pippin's face as he looks back at Frodo. An anguished look on his face as he looks away from them.

Pippin grits his teeth in anger, he couldn't accept this "No!" he says as he jumps out from the hiding spot "Pippin!" Merry calls back as he jumps out to stop him, but is too late as then both of them hear a screech from up the hill and look to see Uruk-hai running towards them, having of spotted them. Frodo notices this and looks at them as they both look at him, they knew what they had to do and Frodo had a worried look on his face knowing that they were going to do it "Run Frodo. Go on!" Merry says to him as both he and Pippin look back at the incoming Uruks.

"Hey! Hey you! Over here!" Merry yells pointing at them as he and Pippin begin to both wave their arms in the air to signal them down as a distraction away from Frodo.

"Hey!" Pippin yells.

"Over here!" Merry yells again.

"This way!" Pippin yells as he and Merry turn and run in the opposite direction away from Frodo, soon enough all of the Uruk-hai are on their tail as they run farther and farther away from Frodo. Frodo is unsure of what to do now, but makes the hard decision of using his friends' distraction to get away as he gets up and runs in the opposite direction down the hill.

"It's working!" Pippin says.

"I know it's working, run!" Merry says as they continue to draw more and more Uruks to them as they run.

Legolas ducks under a charging Uruks sword, coming back up to drive both of his Elven daggers through its neck and then ducking down again while spinning around to swing both of his blades into the back of another Uruk-hai. Another Uruk charges at Aragorn who attempts to catch a quick breather, only to be intercepted by Gimli who blocks its sword and pushes it away as he recovers quickly and slams his axe into the creature's stomach. Aragorn ducks under another Uruks sword as it comes from the other archway, stabbing it with his dagger stunning it as he stands back up and grabbing the back of its head slams it against the wall.

" **Requip! Circle Sword!"** Erza yells requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and summoning a large group of swords which she sends flying towards multiple Uruk-hai around her, even those running away.

" **Roar of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells sending his Iron Roar blast in an arc towards Uruk-hai still running downhill blasting many of them as well as the environment to pieces.

" **Ice Make Floor!"** Gray yells turning the ground before him into Ice, making all of the charging Uruk-hai slip and fall as they then attempt to get back up but to no avail. **"Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance!"** Gray yells as he creates sharp blades of ice on his arms and begins sliding across the frozen ground, striking down the first six Uruk-hai with each of his blades depending on which side, as he comes to the final one he then strikes the Uruk with both of his blades taking it out and sending it flying back. Gimli knocks away another Uruk's sword and then elbows the Uruk across the face knocking it to the ground.

"Aragorn! Behind you!" Natsu yells as he runs towards him. Aragorn quickly acts driving his sword backwards into the Uruk and moving aside as Natsu shoulder rams into it sending it flying to the ground and rolling back. **"Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!"** Natsu yells swinging his left arm in an arc with a fire engulfed fist and striking away all of the Uruks in front of him with his fingertips, leaving a flurry of fire in his wake.

Merry and Pippin continue running, soon running across an old, small bridge but are forced to stop on the other end when they notice another group of Uruks coming down from the hill in front of them. The two are unsure of what to do now that Uruk-hai have them trapped from both sides, one of them charges at them with a two-handed axe at the ready as it brings it back and swings it towards them. Only for Boromir to suddenly appear as he grabs the shaft, stopping the Uruk from swinging it down as he then kicks it in the chest. Boromir takes the axe from it and gets to its back driving the weapon down into it, Merry and Pippin both take out their daggers and help take down two more Uruk-hai that attempt to attack Boromir. Seeing another Uruk running Boromir takes out a dagger and throws it right into the monster's neck making it screech out as it slowly turns away and falls down dead.

" **Roar of the Sky Dragon!"** Wendy yells out as she sends her Sky Roar blast at the charging Uruks in front of her, literally blowing them all away as they cry out.

" **Rampage!"** Taurus yells as he jumps up into the air and brings his massive axe down onto the ground, sending an earthquake blast towards the group of Uruk-hai in front of him taking them out. Lucy swings around and lashes out with her whip striking two more charging Uruk-hai from behind her; a few more charge at her from her back only for the three closest to find themselves falling into mysteriously dug up holes in the ground that literally appeared from out of nowhere as then Virgo breaks out from the ground and flies into the air in front of the other two, swinging and extending both of her chains out to strike both of them away sending them flying into a tree and pillar. As Lucy and Wendy look around, they don't see anymore Uruk-hai around them. "Is that it?" Lucy wonders.

Aragorn is pushed into and pinned against a tree by an Uruk, as he punches away at the Uruk Legolas continues to fire arrows one by one at Uruk-hai charging him, or attempting to get away from him taking down at least six more. Aragorn manages to push the Uruk back and turn it around so the back is facing towards Legolas, who gladly releases an arrow into it taking it out as it falls limp to the ground dead releasing Aragorn. **"Requip!"** Erza yells changing into her Flight Armor as she disappears in a bright flash of light which travels around the battlefield at immense speed cutting down many Uruk-hai before she comes to a halt by Aragorn and Legolas; Natsu then appears after delivering another fire fist punch into an Uruk that destroys the ruins behind the three, attracting their attention towards him as he runs to join them.

Just then three loud ox-horn blasts are heard by them, as well as Lucy and Wendy from where they are, though it is much closer.

"The horn of Gondor!" Legolas says.

"Boromir!" Aragorn says with worry, quickly he and Natsu take off in the direction of where the sounds came from.

"Let's go, Wendy!" Lucy says as she sends both Taurus and Virgo back to the Spirit World.

"Right!" Wendy replies as the two take off.

Where he, Merry, and Pippin are, the two hobbits watch as Boromir picks up an Uruk and throws him over his head to the ground while crying out. Falling to the ground as he quickly gets back up and stabs the Uruk before it can get back up, he begins backing up while Merry and Pippin run away, Boromir brings out his horn and blows into it once again sending out the echoing three ox-horn blasts. Aragorn leaps over a fallen tree and ducks under an Uruks sword, punching it across the face as he then runs down and stabs another Uruk-hai through the stomach as more give chase after him from behind.

Natsu jumps over a log and punches an Uruk across the face as he comes down towards it, landing in a crouched position as then another Uruk was already behind him with its sword raised to end him **"Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!"** Natsu yells sending an blast of fire out from his right elbow into the upper body of the Uruk as it cries out in pain and stumbles away while attempting to put out the fire but to no avail. Natsu gets back up and runs forward, throwing a flaming punch into an Uruk on his left and then jumping while turning around to deliver a twist fire kick across another Uruk's face.

Boromir drops his horn and turns around to block an attacking Uruk's sword as he then cuts the entire arm of the Uruk off as it falls backwards to the ground. It attempts to get back up but Pippin runs towards and jumps onto it, Merry behind him as Boromir turns to take down another Uruk-hai, sweeping it off its feet with his sword and then driving it down into it as then Pippin and Merry drive their barrow blades into the other downed Uruk. While Boromir's horn has helped in calling for Aragorn and the others help, it has also drawn in pretty much every single Uruk for miles around as a massive company of them can be seen running down the hills towards him and the hobbits.

"Run! Run!" Boromir yells at the two as they quickly listen and run away a few feet for safety while Boromir faces off against two more attacking Uruk-hai. Suddenly both of them are shot down by arrows as Boromir turns to see Lucy and Wendy running towards him with Sagittarius behind them "We got your back!" Lucy says as she and Wendy stand by Boromir to his right.

" **Gate of the Scorpion, I open thee! Scorpio!"** Lucy yells as she swings Scorpio's key forward, summoning him alongside Sagittarius as he releases another arrow which magically splits into a few more taking out some more Uruk-hai. "We are!" Scorpio yells in his signature stance.

" **Sand Buster!"** He yells firing a massive tornado of sand from his scorpion-like stinger which impacts into and sends a large group of Uruks flying into the air. While Sagittarius handles Uruks attacking from the left flank, and Scorpio handles things on the right, Boromir, Lucy, Wendy, and the hobbits take care of any Uruks that attack them from the front, Boromir stabbing an Uruk, and Lucy lashing out with her whip to take out two more charging Uruk-hai.

" **Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"** Wendy yells generating a large whirlwind from both of her arms as she throws them forward to strike a group of Uruks in front of her. Merry and Pippin meanwhile drop their daggers to the ground and begin tossing rocks at some other Uruks to help lessen the load the three are having to deal with.

Unknown to the group, Lurtz calmly walks over the top of the hill, a bow and arrow in his hands. Boromir swings his sword across another Uruks chest taking it out as Lucy swings her whip to hit another Uruk, Wendy throws her left arm out to send a blast of wind into two Uruks in front of her sending them flying. Sagittarius releases another arrow, splitting apart in the air to take down five more Uruks coming at him from his side, **"Sand Spear!"** Scorpio yells firing a single blast of sand into three Uruks as it impacts in front of them and sends them flying.

As Merry and Pippin hit two more Uruks with throwing rocks, Lucy brings her whip back and looks at the massive group of Uruks gathering around them _"Natsu, come on. Where are you guys?"_ she wonders. Hoping that they arrive soon to help them out, luckily she still had a lot of other spirits ready to call should Sagittarius and Scorpio get overrun or tired. Suddenly something flew through the air, and into the area beneath Boromir's left shoulder as he grunts out in pain and stops for a moment. Merry, Pippin, Lucy, and Wendy suddenly stop as well, shocked looks coming to their faces when they notice this and then take notice that it was a black arrow sticking out from him. Boromir groans in pain before then falling to his knees as he breathes hard for air.

Lurtz growls as he looks at this, having of been the one to fire the arrow as he finds himself unsatisfied with where it hit knowing it would not be a killing shot.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: Amon Hen)**_

Boromir cries out, he still had fighting left in him as the hobbits, and worse, Lucy and Wendy were too in shock at what just happened to even respond properly; getting back up to his feet he swings his sword to knock back another Uruks sword and then stab it. Lurtz begins to slowly walk down the hill, a quiver of arrows at his side as more Uruks continue to run in from behind him. The four quickly come back to their senses, the hobbits get back to throwing rocks to slow down the others as Lucy yells "Wendy!" before swinging her whip out again to take out two more Uruks.

"Boromir-san! Please stop! I need to heal you!" Wendy yells in a pleading tone. However he does not, he knows that if he does then he risks the hobbits, Lucy, and Wendy being killed, or taken, and so continues to fight the incoming Uruk-hai as he punches another to the ground. Suddenly another arrow imbeds itself into his left side stomach as he once again gasps in pain.

"Sagittarius!" Lucy cries out, hoping that he can find and shoot the Uruk archer doing this. As Sagittarius hears this, he quickly turns and begins scanning as quickly as he can for the Uruk archer, eventually spotting Lurtz who is slowly walking down the hill again. Sagittarius quickly acts as he pulls back on his bow to fire, but is then suddenly tackled from his left by two Uruk-hai, knocking him to the ground as he cries out.

"Sagittarius!" Lucy yells as she runs over to try and save him. Boromir meanwhile falls back onto his knees and turns around, once again shocked looks on Merry, Pippin, and Wendy's faces, especially Wendy's as her eyes widened and pupils shrunk in horror at what she was seeing before her. "Boromir-san, please!" Wendy cried out as tears began to form in her eyes, she ran towards him to try and heal him, but he pushed her back away from him as she fell to the ground and looked back at him with pain in her eyes. Boromir cried out again as he swung around to continue his fight against the Uruks.

Lucy lashed out with her whip to take out an Uruk to her left, and then her right, but is too late as one of the Uruks drive their sword into Sagittarius as he cries out in pain and disappears back to the spirit world to heal. "No! Scorpio!" Lucy yells out. Unfortunately like Sagittarius, as Scorpio turns to try and take out Lurtz the Uruks quickly rush him and stab him multiple times sending him back to the Spirit World in a bright golden light "Lucy! I'm sorry~!" he cries out before disappearing.

"No~!" Lucy cries out in horror, her two long-range spirits were now both injured and gone, there was no more spirits she could summon to take out the archer in time. Just then, a third arrow flew through the air, directly into Boromir's chest as he gasped out again in pain, Lucy turns around to see this as her eyes widened and pupils shrunk, her jaw dropping open in horror. Boromir fell to his knees again, but this time, he wasn't going to be getting back up. He was slowly breathing for air, but in too much pain that he found himself no longer able to move. Merry and Pippin gather the courage they can, overcoming their shock for anger as they grabbed their barrow blades and charged towards the Uruks, Wendy was in a frozen state on the ground as she just looked at Boromir with her horrified eyes with tears ready to start coming down her face any second.

As Merry and Pippin charged forward, the first two Uruks they ran into easily picked them up without issue, making them drop their daggers. "Wendy! Lucy!" Merry yelled, snapping Wendy out of her petrified state and catching Lucy's attention back to them.

"Merry-san! Pippin-san!" Wendy yelled as she got up and ran towards the two Uruks holding them to try and save them, unfortunately another Uruk appeared suddenly in front of her and backhanded her across the face, knocking her out as the Uruk then picked her up under its right arm and began to carry her away. "Wendy!" Lucy cried out as she reached for one of her keys, failing to notice the Uruk behind her which grabbed her around her waist and hoisted her up into the air. Lucy however elbows the Uruk in the face making it release her and stumble back a bit, unfortunately the pocket holder with her keys fell from her skirt to the ground as Lucy turned around **"Lucy Kick!"** she yelled delivering a kick up its chin sending it flying up to the ground. However another Uruk immediately runs in from her front right and backhands her across the face, knocking her out as she spins around completely and then falls forward, the Uruk catching and lifting her onto its shoulder as it begins to run away.

Boromir can only watch in sadness as he sees the remaining, large group of Uruk-hai running away with Merry and Pippin, who wave their hands helplessly in the air, and an unconscious Lucy and Wendy, still painfully gasping for air. More and more of the remaining Uruk-hai continue to run past him, all except for one that slowly walks up in front of him with its bow and arrow in hand, Lurtz, there to finish off Boromir once and for all. Boromir looks up at the Uruk leader before him, all of the remaining Uruk-hai now gone as he and Lurtz, who pulls the next arrow back on his bow, are surrounded by its dead comrades that he and the others managed to successfully take out.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: Amon Hen)**_

* * *

The arrow is pointed right at Boromir's head, Boromir continues to gasp painfully for air as he watches Lurtz growl towards him, ready to finish him off when suddenly…

" **Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"**

A fully engulfed Natsu flies into and rams head first right into the back of Lurtz, causing the Uruk to roar out in pain as he is propelled forward over Boromir to the ground, rolling across it a few times before coming to a stop. Natsu lands on his feet and breathes at a fast rate, trying to catch his breath from the running and fighting he did to get here ahead of the others feeling that something wasn't right. And then, he noticed him...Boromir as he looked up at him. "Boromir!" Natsu yelled out.

"They...they took…them…" he says through his gasps.

"Took them? Took-" just then out of the corner of his eyes he notices a golden glint on the ground and turns his head. He gasps as his eyes widened in complete shock at what he was seeing on the ground, it was Lucy's pocket holder for her keys, a few of the keys sticking out from it as it laid on the dirty ground. His eyes tremble in shock and fear at what he was seeing "L-Lucy?" he says, lost for words. Just then, from across the way from him, Lurtz, who somehow got lucky and survived his attack, begins to slowly push himself back up to his feet, growling in anger as he grabs a sword and shield to use as he then roars out in anger at Natsu.

Natsu turned his head slightly towards Lurtz, a dark shadow covering most of his upper face and only showing a dark, angered look in his left eye, Lurtz's eyes actually widened a bit in shock as he continued to growl lowly. "What the hell did you do to Lucy?" Natsu questions, the anger absolutely clear in his voice. Lurtz actually took two steps backwards, the look from Natsu was actually terrifying him! However, he then stopped in his tracks, this couldn't be happening to him, he's the first Uruk-hai in existence, no one can stop him, especially not some human child! Lurtz regained his composure and roared in anger to Natsu as he began to slowly walk towards him, Natsu turned and took a few steps forward past Boromir who began to crawl himself over to a nearby tree to lie against.

Stopping in his tracks Natsu lit his entire body on fire "If you bastards hurt Lucy, you're master's going to wish he was already dead." Natsu says as he grits his sharpened teeth together.

Lurtz begins to pick up speed, running towards Natsu eventually as he just looks down at the ground, shadows covering his upper face as then Lurtz brings back his sword and swings it down onto Natsu...who catches it with his left hand and begins to melt it. Lurtz roars in anger at Natsu who lifts his head up to reveal his face, the angered look on him could kill if possible "Let's start with you first…" Natsu says through gritted teeth, pushing what remained of Lurtz's sword back, sending him stumbling back a little as he then lights his fists up with even more flames turning them into orange balls of fire. Aragorn appears at the top of the hill as he stops in his tracks to see the scene before him with widened eyes.

" **CRIMSON LOTUS: FIRE DRAGON'S FIST!"** Natsu yells out as loud as he can as he begins delivering a continuous barrage of fire punches with his right fist into the entire body of Lurtz whose body becomes like a rag doll from the immense speed of the punches as it flinches back and forth continuously from all of the punches going into him. After finally ending it, he then brings back his left fist and slams it right into Lurtz's face sending the Uruk flying back at an immense speed right into a massive tree as he crashes into it and literally knocks the tree off its roots as it falls over to the ground sending up a lot of dirt and debris into the air. As the dust clears, Lurtz's body is seen imbedded far into the tree trunk, bloodied and burnt up, but without a head as it is then seen that there was a branch sticking out above where his body crashed into, his decapitated head hanging all the way on it against the trunk, with the branch going through his mouth.

Natsu pants like crazy as his immense fire dies down, trying to catch his breath after the powerful attack and anger that coursed through him and still was. Aragorn was in awe at the incredible power he had just seen, now understanding why they needed to hold back when they were in this world, it was then he spotted Boromir lying against a tree, three arrows in his body "No…" Aragorn says as he rushes down the hill towards him. Aragorn rushes over to Boromir and kneels down in front of him, dropping his sword to the side as there is blood at the left side of his lips "They took the little ones!" he says, his body was pale while blood was also coming out from the arrow holes in his body.

"Hold still." Aragorn says looking at the damage done to him.

"Frodo. Where is Frodo?" Boromir asks.

"I let Frodo go." Aragorn answers.

"Then you did what I could not...I tried to take the Ring from him." Boromir says.

"The Ring is beyond our reach now." Aragorn says.

"Forgive me...I did not see it...I have failed you all." Boromir says.

"No, Boromir. You fought bravely...You have kept your honor." Aragorn says, moving his right hand to try and take out one of the arrows, but is stopped by Boromir as he grabs his hand. "Leave it. It is over...The world of Men will fall. And all will come to darkness...and my city to ruin." Boromir says.

"I do not know what strength is in my blood...but I swear to you, I will not let the White City fall. Nor our people fail." Aragorn says.

"Our people...Our people…" Boromir says, his gasps becoming more and more frequent, he then tries to grab his sword, Aragorn sees this and grabs it for him, placing it into his hand as Boromir then brings it to his chest and clasps it over it. Natsu has his back turned towards them "Boromir...I'm sorry…" Natsu says.

Boromir and Aragorn turn towards him "Do not be, Natsu. I am sorry I could not protect your friends...But please...promise me…"

"Don't worry." Natsu then turns around to face them, more specifically Boromir "I will make sure nothing happens to your city, your people, or your home. I'll make sure to kick Sauron's ass on your behalf. You have the promise of Fairy Tail. And when we make a promise...we keep it."

"It looks like, I was wrong about you, mages of Fairy Tail. Maybe you will be the ones who will help save Middle-Earth, in these dark times…" Boromir says.

Behind them, Legolas, Erza, Gimli, Gray, and Gajeel arrive to see the scene before them. "I would have followed you, my brother...My captain...My king…" Boromir says, until he takes his last breath and finally passes. Aragorn touches his hand to his forehead and then to his lips in respect for him, putting both of his hands on the side of Boromir's head "Be at peace...son of Gondor." Aragorn says, closing Boromir's eyes with his thumb and then leaning down to kiss Boromir on the brow.

Legolas looks at them with a saddened face, Gimli bows his head and turns away also saddened. Erza and Gray look at them with saddened faces as well, Gajeel has what appears to be a hardened look on his face, but his sadness for Boromir's death pierces through it and can be seen, Natsu turns his head away. "They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return." Aragorn says as he stands up, tears begin coming down his eyes.

Suddenly Natsu raises his right hand into the air and sticks his index finger and thumb out, the other Fairy Tail mages follow raising their hands into the air and repeating the same gesture. Aragorn and the others notice this and look at them "That gesture, what does it mean?" Legolas asks.

"It means…"Even if I can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... I will always be watching you."" Erza says.

 _Meanwhile…_

Frodo stands at the shore, the elven boats before him as he silently stands and stares off into the distance, his hand with the Ring held out a bit, his lips quivering, an unsure look on his face as to what to do now, if he should go through with **his** plan or not.

Sam runs as fast as he can through the forest, luckily having of escaped without running into any Uruk-hai, "Frodo!" he yelled as his voice echoed out.

Tears begin to come down Frodo's cheeks, he thinks back to a conversation he had with Gandalf. _"I wish the Ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened…"_

" _So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide...is what to do with the time that is given to you."_

Frodo closes his hand and puts the Ring away. He walks over towards one boat filled with supplies and pushes it off the shore into the river as he climbs in it. Sam continues running, faster and faster until he finally emerges at the shoreline to see Frodo rowing away in the boar "Frodo no! Frodo!" Sam yells as he runs into the shallow ends of the water. "Mr. Frodo!" Sam yells.

"No Sam." Frodo quietly says as he continues rowing away.

Sam stands there at first, but then begins wading his way deeper into the water after him, which catches Frodo's attention as he stops rowing and looks back at him "Go back Sam! I'm going to Mordor alone!" Frodo says.

"Of course you are...And I'm coming with you!" Sam says in determination, going deeper and deeper into the water till it's already up to his stomach.

"You can't swim!" Frodo yells back, knowing this was true, but Sam continued going until he was now neck deep in the water and no longer touching the bottom. He was now trying to swim out to him, but was not succeeding as true enough he did not know how to swim and was barely going anywhere, but only down as he tried to keep his head above the water.

"Sam!" Frodo cried back.

Frodo was now trying to turn back as fast as possible, but the boat was turning too slowly and he would still need to row back to reach him, but by then he may already be too far in the water to grab him. Sam's head then disappeared beneath the water, causing Frodo to let go of the oar in the boat and clasp the edge of the boat "Sam!" all that was seen now was rippling in the water where he went under.

Sam sinks deeper and deeper into the river, trying to swim back up but to no avail like he was a rock. He sees the sun shimmering up on the surface as he then stops, his arms float lifeless in the water, until suddenly three small figures crash into the water with wings on their backs, and swim down towards him. Two grabbing his arms, and the third his hood as they begin to lift him out of the water, suddenly bursting through the water as then Sam is carried over in the air towards the boat and carefully brought down into it onto his hands and knees. He coughs up the water in his mouth and gasps for the air to breathe in, water was now dripping down from his wet body and clothing as Frodo helped him up onto his knees.

"Looks like that was a close one." a familiar female voice spoke out.

Sam looked past Frodo, who had tears going down his eyes as he turned around to see the three Exceeds standing on the other end of the boat before them, Carla with her arms crossed, Happy with his paws by his side, and Lily with his right paw to his hip. Sam then spoke catching Frodo's attention back to him "I made a promise Mr. Frodo. A promise. "Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee…" And I don't mean to. I don't mean to." Sam says, quoting Gandalf from back when they started this whole journey together from the Shire.

"Oh Sam!" Frodo says in happiness as he hugs his best friend who hugs him back. He was glad to see that even with what is most likely to be a suicide mission, his best friend was going to be there by his side, no matter what to the very end if it happened.

The two break away and then turn their attention back to the Exceeds "But...why are you three here?" Frodo asks.

"Let's just say I had a "feeling" that you were going to try and get away from the others." Carla says, having of had a very short vision of Frodo standing on the shore and then attempting to leave in the boat while they were flying in the air above the forest.

"We're not here to stop you. We already can see it in your eyes that you're going to go through with this. No matter what." Lily says.

"So, if you plan on doing so, then let us at least be here to help you out. That way you at least have some help from the mages of Fairy Tail since it is supposed to be our job to protect you guys on this journey." Happy says raising his right paw up.

"But...what about Natsu, and the rest of your friends?" Sam asks.

Carla has a saddened look appear on her face as she lowers her eyes to the ground "While leaving Wendy is hard for me to do, I understand that she'll be safer with the others. While they aren't going to be with us to help you destroy the Ring, they can at least help Aragorn and the others since I have a feeling they're going to try and at least help us from far away in terms of dealing with the forces of Saruman and Sauron." Carla says.

"True, I have a feeling the others will think of some way of helping us. Even if it isn't by our side." Lily says.

"I know for a fact that Natsu isn't just going to sit by and let Sauron and Saruman do what they want with Middle-Earth, they're going to be fighting, and fighting on our behalf to help rid this world of evil! So, while they do their thing, we should get back to what we were about to do." Happy says.

Frodo and Sam smile at the three Exceeds, they could tell they weren't going to be taking no for an answer as well "Very well then. Come on." Frodo says as he and Sam pick up the two oars in the boat and begin rowing towards the other shore.

* * *

 _Sometime Later…_

Boromir is laid to rest in one of the other boats. His sword rests with him, his shield is above his head and his cloven horn at his side. The boat slips over the falls of Rauros and then drops into the mists below. Gimli along with Gray, and Erza watch as the boat disappears over the waterfall while Aragorn fastens Boromir's vambraces to his arm in his honor. Gajeel stands along the shoreline staring out at the opposite shore, Natsu is seen sitting on a rock behind the others as Legolas shoves one of the other boats into the water.

"Hurry! Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds have reached the eastern shore!" Legolas says with haste. Stopping and turning around, when he then notices Aragorn's look on his face as he turns and looks at the opposite shoreline, just barely making out the shapes of Frodo, and Sam walking and the Exceeds flying up a path into the forest and disappearing.

"You mean not to follow them." Legolas says, understanding what was happening.

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn answers.

Legolas is a bit stunned by this, turning around and looking back at the opposite shore as Gimli walks up to them "Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed." Gimli says as he and Legolas walk up to Aragorn.

"Huh?! What the hell you talking about? I don't know about you. But I'm still ready to kick some ass! Besides, with Lily watching over those two, I'm sure they'll be just fine." Gajeel says catching the threes attention.

Gray walks up beside him "Sure, as a whole we've pretty much failed, and got separated. But that doesn't mean we can't still help those guys out in some way, right?" Gray says as Erza joins beside the two.

"As long as we're together, no matter what the losses we've taken, we need to continue on. After all, we do have a new mission at hand now." Erza says.

Natsu then stands up, both of his hands clenched into fists as his sandals move some of the gravel beneath him bringing the others' attention to him as he looked at the ground, then raising his head towards them "And that's rescuing Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin!" Natsu states, a serious look on his face.

Aragorn nods his head "Agreed." Aragorn says as he turns back to Gimli and Legolas and puts his hands on their shoulders "It is not over, not if we hold true to each other. We will not abandon Merry, Pippin, Lucy, and Wendy to torment and death. Not while we have strength left." Aragorn says to the two, raising their spirits again.

"Besides, it's as Gajeel said. Knowing Happy, Carla, and Lily. They'll watch over them. After all, they are Fairy Tail mages." Erza says with confidence as she crosses her arms and grins.

Aragorn nods his head in agreement, turning around then "Leave all that can be spared behind." he says as he walks over to a small rock to pick up his Elven dagger as he then sheathes it away "We travel light." he says.

He looks back at everyone who stands in front of him, Natsu to his left "Let us hunt some Orc." Aragorn says as he turns and runs off into the forest. Gimli and Legolas look at each other, a grin comes to Gimli's face as well "Yes! Haha!" Gimli chuckles as he begins to run off, Legolas grins along with the others as he runs off, followed by Gray, Gajeel, Erza, and then finally, after a few moments, Natsu as he finally grins and takes off. All of them run back into the forest to follow the direction the Uruk-hai went in.

As Natsu runs behind everyone else, he holds up his right fist and opens it to reveal Lucy's pocket holder with her keys in it, he narrows his eyes towards it _"Merry, Pippin, Wendy...Lucy...hang on!"_

Meanwhile, unknown to him, in his backpack the pendant from Galadriel begins to glow a bit before dying away almost instantly.

 _Elsewhere sometime later…_

Frodo and Sam walk up a rocky cliff, the Exceeds flying above and behind them until they finally reach the top to find themselves looking out into the vastness of Emyn Muil, and off, far in the distance, the dark clouds and high mountain walls of Mordor. "Mordor…I hope the others find a safer road." Frodo says.

"Strider will look after them. As well as Natsu and the others." Sam says.

"I don't suppose we'll ever see them again." Frodo says.

"H-Hey, try to at least have a positive outlook on things." Lily says a bit worried by what he said.

"Lily's right Mr. Frodo, we may yet. We may." Sam says reassuringly.

"Sam…" Frodo says as a smile comes to his face, then turning his head to look back at him "I'm glad you are with me." Frodo finishes putting a hand on his shoulder, making Sam smile back at him. When suddenly Happy flies in between them "How cruel of you Frodo! How could you leave me and Carla out when you said that?!" Happy complains with a sad voice.

"And what about me in that sentence?" Lily questions closing his eyes a bit, confused. Frodo chuckles "And of course, you three as well. Happy, Carla, Lily. Thanks for being with me and Sam as well." Frodo says, making all three Exceeds smile at him as Happy chuckles. They then begin to head off, Frodo and Sam walking down a nearby rocky path to finally begin their journey into the place while the Exceeds fly after them.


	7. The Maze of Emyn Muil, The Seven Hunters

"Gandalf!" Frodo yells as he suddenly awakens. The yelling also wakes up his friend Sam as he turns around with a worried look on his face and puts a hand on Frodo's shoulder "What is it Mr. Frodo?" Sam asks with concern.

"What happened?! Are we under attack?!" the Exceed Happy questions in fright as he, along with his fellow Fairy Tail Exceeds Lily and Carla also wake up, the latter two more calmly however as they look around.

"I'm not seeing anyone. Then again it's hard to see anything in this fog." Lily says.

"Frodo, are you okay?" Carla asks.

Frodo remains silent for a few seconds before finally replying "I'm...I'm alright. It was nothing." Frodo says before lying back down on his pillow and looking up at the sky, which he could not see due to a really dense fog that surrounded him and the others "Just a dream." Frodo says, which was true in a way since he had a dream about...Gandalf's death...making it more of a nightmare if anything.

 _A Few Hours Later…_

The sun had risen casting blue, cloudy skies above the land that is known as Emyn Muil, which from anywhere deep within looked like a vast, seemingly impenetrable maze of rocky crags that reach high; and to make matters worse was the thick fog that made it nearly impossible to see where to go for miles around. Going down the side of a crag were Sam and Frodo using the rope Sam was given by Galadriel, all the while Happy flew relatively close to them, ready to catch one of them if they slipped from the rope as both Carla and Lily were nowhere in sight, the two having flown ahead to scout out for a path the hobbits could take through this maze of a land.

"Can you see the bottom?" Sam called down to Frodo who was a few feet below him.

"No! Don't look down Sam, just keep going!" Frodo yelled back up after looking down to see nothing but thick fog below them.

"Just be careful guys and try to hurry. Without Carla or Lily here to help me I won't be able to catch the both of you if that rope doesn't hold or you both slip." Happy says.

After a few moments Sam continued down the side of the rock, though as soon as he took another step, he lost his footing causing him to falter around a bit on the rope. A small box then fell from the bottom of his bag as Sam noticed this and tried to reach out for it with a yelp "Catch it! Grab it Mr. Frodo!" Sam yelled as Frodo looked up to see the box bounce off a rock and fall towards him.

Frodo reached up and caught the box, unfortunately this caused him to lose his footing on the rock and then his grip on the rope as he cried out and fell "Mr. Frodo!" Sam yelled out as Happy quickly acted and flying towards him grabbed Frodo's cloak "I got you Frodo!" Happy yelled as he lifted him up.

Frodo felt major relief upon being held up in the air by the Exceed, but upon looking down, his terrified face was replaced with one of confusion "Uh, Happy. I think you can let go of me." Frodo says.

"What?! Are you insane?! Don't say that I got you Frodo!" Happy yelled out in shock.

"N-No Happy, look down." Frodo says as Happy does just that. Right below the two was the ground, Happy was pretty much at this point holding Frodo up in the air just a few inches off the ground "Oh…" Happy says as he lowers him to the ground.

"Sam! I think we found the bottom!" Frodo yelled.

With some haste Sam carefully scurried his way down the rope until his feet touched the ground, all the while Happy and Frodo looked around to still find themselves surrounded by a lot of pointy, and high rocks with only a single path laid out before them. "Bogs and rope, and goodness knows what. It's not natural. None of it. I really hope Carla and Lily find us a path through this place." Sam says as he turns around and looks at the surroundings.

Frodo then lifts the small box of Sam's up to look at it "What's in this?" Frodo asks as he looks at Sam.

"Nothing. Just a bit of seasoning. I thought maybe if we was having a roast chicken one night or something." Sam says as he walks towards him.

"Roast chicken?!" Frodo questions in a humorous disbelief.

"Roast chicken?! Mhm~ that sounds good! I could really go for that right now." Happy says with his paws to his stomach while drooling.

"Hey now don't forget you still got your fish, especially since you won't let the rest of us touch it…'cept Carla that is when you offer her some and she refuses it. But anyways, you never know." Sam says. "Sam...My dear Sam." Frodo humorously says while shaking his head as he then looks down and opens the small box to see the mostly white but some gray seasoning inside it.

"It's very special that. It's the best salt in all the Shire." Sam says.

"It is special." Frodo says, a hint of sadness in his tone. Frodo doesn't say anything for a few seconds before he then closes and hands the box back to Sam "It's a little bit of home." Frodo finishes.

Frodo then walks over to the rope and looks up "We can't leave this here for someone to follow us down." Frodo says.

"Who's gonna follow us down here Mr. Frodo?" Sam asks.

"It's a shame really. Lady Galadriel gave me that. Real Elvish rope." Sam continues as he puts the box away in his pocket and walks over to Frodo while Happy hovers behind them "If you want I can just fly back up there, untie it, and bring it back down here." Happy says.

"Nah, it's alright Happy. There's nothing for it, it's one of my knots. Won't come free in a hurry." Sam says as he lightly tugs at it. Seemingly undoing his knot in an instant as the rope begins to fall to the ground really quickly until it is all on the ground in front of the three. The three look down at it as the two Hobbits exchange a glance at one another, Frodo with a blank stare and Sam with a bit of a worried one "Real Elvish rope." Frodo says amused.

"Uh~, I don't know if I should be laughing at what just happened...or worried that could've come undone and it just didn't chose not to." Happy says as Sam looks at the rope in his hand and then up again.

"We're back!" the three hear Carla call out as they turn to see her and Lily flying towards them.

"Any luck?" Sam asks.

"Nope. Even flying up high the fog was too thick to see and plot a course through. We may know the direction to head, we just don't know the safe path to take to get through it." Lily says.

"Then I guess we just have to keep on hoping we're heading in the right direction. Come on." Frodo says.

 _A Few more hours later…_

The fog has mostly cleared now at a certain height as the sun shines down onto Emyn Muil, the two Hobbits climb up a hill of rocks while the Exceeds continue to hover just a few feet above them. Sam reaches the top of the hill and looks out in the distance to see that they not only have a long way to go still, but farther off many miles away, was Mordor. The skies above it filled with darkened clouds, except for where Barad-dur, and Mount Doom lie which is casted over by orange lighting from the volcanic mountain and the orange lightning that strikes every now and then. As Frodo and the Exceeds come up from behind him, they also look off into the distance at the dark land "Mordor. The one place in Middle-Earth we don't want to see any closer. And the one place we're trying to get to. It's just where we can't get." Sam says as he then turns around and faces the others, more specifically Frodo.

"Let's face it Mr. Frodo, we're lost. I don't think Gandalf meant for us to come this way." Sam says.

"He didn't mean for a lot of things to happen Sam...but they did." Frodo says in a saddened tone.

Sam lowers his head in sadness due to having of brought up the reminder that Gandalf had died in Moria and then looks back at Mordor "If only we could just fly over this entire place, taking rests every now and then. We would've been out of here in no time." Happy says.

"But then we risk being seen by Sauron or any one of his servants or spies." Lily says.

"If we have any chance at destroying the Ring we need the element of surprise on our side. Without any of the others we can't risk getting into a large-scale fight with Sauron's forces." Carla says.

Suddenly Frodo let's out a painful gasp for air and begins to falter to the ground, turning around quickly as he manages to seat himself down on the rocks. Sam and the Exceeds notice what happen "Mr. Frodo?" Sam asks.

"Frodo you alright?" Happy asks.

Frodo doesn't respond as he seems to be busy catching his breath from whatever happened to him "It's the Ring, isn't it?" Sam asks.

"It's getting heavier." Frodo says as he brings his right hand to his chest and clenches it over where the Ring is.

"It looks like the closer we get to Mordor, the more troublesome that Ring becomes for Frodo." Carla says.

"Let us just hope it can't give away our location." Lily says. Sam sets his bag on the ground to take the time for Frodo to recover to check their supplies, the Exceeds lower themselves to the ground as Happy also takes his backpack off to go over what's inside of it. Frodo takes a drink of water from his satchel "What food have we got left?" Frodo asks Sam.

"Let me see. Oh yes, lovely." Sam says as he brings a wrapping of a single Lembas bread out from his bag "Lembas bread. And look!" Sam says as he pulls out another leaf wrapped bread "More, lembas bread." Sam says breaking a piece of it off and tossing it to Frodo who catches it before breaking another piece off for himself.

"I got my fish in here, and some more lembas bread as well." Happy speaks up as he and the Exceeds have some bread themselves from Happy's pack, Happy having of had a few bites from his fish already today decides to save the rest for some other times.

Sam and Frodo both take bites from their pieces of lembas bread and begin to chew on it "I don't usually hold with foreign food...but this Elvish stuff, it's not bad." Sam says as Frodo looks back at him, a smile coming to his face.

"Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it Sam?" Frodo happily asks.

Sam looks away but upon seeing something his happiness goes away "Those rain clouds might." Sam says.

 _That Night…_

The Hobbits and Exceed huddle under their elven cloaks against a rocky wall from the heavy downpour of the rain and cold air, suddenly unknown to one another, both Frodo and Lily look up to their left at the same time but don't see anything. However, to both of them, they both felt like their little group was being watched, by something...or someone. Frodo looked away and lowered his head back into his arms, Lily however kept his eyes out, his inner warrior telling him that they weren't alone.

 _The next morning…_

The rain had passed, but the heavy fog was back once again as the two Hobbits continued climbing the rocks, Sam was some feet behind Frodo looking around while Frodo climbed up some others up ahead of him, the Exceeds flying around close to them being careful as to not wander too far away or risk getting lost in the fog. Sometime later the group found themselves back on a dirt path as they kept vigilant for signs of where they were going. Some more time passed and they were walking up a dirt path with rocks on both sides of them "This looks strangely familiar." Sam suddenly spoke up.

"Are you sure?" Happy asks.

"Now that I've looked around, I recognize some of these rocks unfortunately." Carla says.

"It's because we've been here before. We're going in circles." Frodo says.

"Eh~?! In circles?! But if we're going in circles that means we're lost and might not find our way out of here!" Happy cries out in horror hearing this.

"With this fog up it's hard to tell where we're going, but we can't wait for it to go away. Don't know how long that'll take." Lily says.

"There has to be some kind of path marker or something that can tell us the correct way out of here." Carla says.

Sam suddenly starts sniffing the air when he smells something "Uh, what is that horrid stink? I warrant there's a nasty bog nearby. Can you smell it?" Sam asks as he stands on an overlooking rock and looks back at the others.

"Uh~, yeah, I can smell it alright." Happy says as he and Carla cover their noses.

"I've never smelled anything so horrible in my whole life." Carla says.

"Then I think we're all in agreement that we can smell it." Frodo calmly says as he walks over to Sam's side and looks out towards his left side.

Frodo then slowly turns his head towards Sam "We're not alone…" Frodo quietly says with a worried look on his face.

 _That Night…_

While the Exceeds fly ahead to try and find another way through Emyn Muil, the two Hobbits rest under another rocky wall as the wind blows strong, but quietly through the night. Out of nowhere, a low snarling sound can be heard coming from above them as then a small, skeletal, thin and gaunt creature with large, beady eyes and small strands of brown hair begins to slowly and quietly make its way down the wall "The thieves...The thieves… The filthy, little thieves." the creature snarls in anger as he continues using jutting out rocks to make his way down the wall.

"Where is it? Where is it? They stole it from us. My precious~. Curse them, we hates them! It's ours it is, and we wants it!"

Without warning both Sam and Frodo spring up from their sleeping bags, both of them having of pretended to be asleep as to draw the creature out as they launch themselves up and grab the creature's wrists before he can get away pulling him over them and onto the ground. The creature fights back however and easily manages to break free of their grip, pushing Sam away and then Frodo, the push knocking the Ring out from beneath Frodo's clothing. The creature jumps around on the ground before landing his eyes on Frodo, and spotting the Ring on his chain as Frodo notices the creature looking at it. The creature pounces onto Frodo and attempts to grab the Ring, Frodo however grabs and pushes away at the creature's hands to keep him from getting it as the creature just continues to try and grab it. Sam recovers and quickly crawls over grabbing the creature's right leg as he begins to pull him back off of Frodo, the creature however turns around and socks Sam right across the face knocking him back to the ground and jumps right back onto Frodo and begins reaching with all his might to try and grab the Ring, Frodo now struggling to hold the creature back.

Suddenly massive arms wrapped around the creature and quickly pulled it off Frodo, revealing the savior to be Lily in his battle mode as just like how the hobbits feigned sleeping, the Exceeds faked flying off to scout the area ahead of them, only flying away a mile or two before quickly turning around to aid Frodo and Sam in capturing their stalker. "Frodo! Are you okay?!" Happy asks as he and Carla fly over to Frodo.

Although Lily held on to the creature with all his strength he found it difficult to keep the creature under control as it continued to squirm violently around in his grasp, the creature then threw its head back into Lily's face stunning and making him drop the creature as it then turned around and jump kicked Lily in the chest with both feet sending him backwards to the ground. The creature turned back and charged at Frodo once again as Happy and Carla seeing this flew at the creature to try and stop it, though the creature simply backhanded Carla into Happy sending them crashing to the ground aside and allowing the creature to pounce onto Frodo again. Sam however had recovered back and almost immediately grabbed away at the creature's left arm to pull him off Frodo again. This time the creature grabbed Frodo and as he was lifted back, throwing Frodo aside before climbing up onto Sam's back and jumping off him onto the rocky wall and scaling it a bit before turning and launching himself back onto Frodo. The creature once again reached for the Ring but was held back by Frodo as Sam came in and put his arms around the creature, crying out as he lifted it off of Frodo making the creature squirm around violently just like with Lily.

This time however the creature elbowed Sam in the face and turned around while still in his arms, grabbing onto him and biting down onto the right side of his neck causing Sam to cry out in pain as he fell down to the ground. Before the creature could do anymore harm Lily rushed in and grabbed the creature by the neck, pulling him off of Sam and throwing him against the other wall as the creature impacted into it and fell to the ground stunned for a bit. Before it could do anything else Lily pinned the creature against the wall with his left arm and held his Musica sword against its throat as Frodo came in with Sting drawn and pointed it at the neck as well, effectively making the creature stop from resisting anymore as it began to catch its breath.

"This is Sting. You've seen it before...haven't you, Gollum?" Frodo says to the creature, now revealed to be Gollum.

"So...this is the creature that has been following us?" Lily questions while still keeping his eyes and sword on him.

"This is Gollum? Hasn't he been following us even before we got to Moria?" Carla questions with her arms crossed as she and Happy stand up on the ground looking at it.

The creature, now identified as Gollum looks at Frodo and the others before him, and unfortunately for himself, he does not see any way to get out of this. Gollum closes his eyes in fear and sadness as he suddenly begins to cry out.

 _The Next Morning…_

Gollum cries out once again, the sound echoing for miles throughout the rocky crags. Somewhere inside of the crags on another dirt path the group continue on their way through the place, now with Gollum trailing behind them with the Elvish rope tied around his neck and Sam pulling it as Gollum cries out in pain once again "It burns! It burns us!" Gollum cries out as he flails around falling onto one rock, and then throwing himself onto another and then falling to the ground.

"It freezes!" Sam continues pulling on the rope, full of anger at having to continue to drag away at the creature who was obviously uncooperative with the rope forcing him to continue to pull away at him. "Nasty Elves twisted it. Take it off us!" Gollum pleaded while gesturing the rope towards Sam and the others who are forced to stop as Gollum continues to lie on the ground not wanting to move himself.

"Quiet you!" Sam yells.

Gollum stands up on his knees, leaning back as he cries out into the air "And I thought the boys' snoring was horrible but this." Carla says along with the other Exceeds pull their ears down to try and block out the cries of Gollum.

"It's hopeless! Every Orc in Mordor's going to hear this racket! Let's just tie him up and leave him." Sam says to Frodo as he walks over to him and looks at Gollum.

"I second that." Lily says.

"No! That would kill us! Kill us!" Gollum cries out.

"It's no more than you deserve!" Sam states as Gollum falls backwards onto the ground and continues to writher around while crying quietly.

"Maybe he does deserve to die" Frodo says as he continues to look down at Gollum "But now that I see him, I do pity him." Frodo finishes.

Hearing this the Exceeds look at Frodo a bit confused while Gollum stops rolling around on the ground, looking up at Frodo with a happy look on his face as he begins to pick himself up onto his knees "We be nice to them if they be nice to us. Take it off us…" Gollum pleads while holding the rope out to Frodo.

"Why does he say we like there's more than just him?" Happy quietly says to Lily and Carla.

"I don't know." Carla says.

"We swears to do what you wants. We swears…" Gollum continues to plead in a crying voice while bowing down each time.

"I think that'd be a terrible idea. Are we just going to forget the fact that he tried to kill us and take the ring last night?" Carla says.

"There's no promise you can make that I can trust." Frodo says.

Gollum looks back up at Frodo and takes a step forward "We swears...to serve the master of the precious… We will swear on...on the precious! Gollum! Gollum!" Gollum says coughing up his name at the end for some reason.

Sam and the Exceeds keep their eyes on Gollum not trusting him for a second that he won't try something "The Ring is treacherous. It will hold you to your word." Frodo says.

"Yes...on the precious" Gollum says as he crawls closer and closer until he is at Frodo's feet before looking up at him "On the precious."

"I don't think we should trust him!" Happy says.

"And I agree!" Sam angrily states as he rushes Gollum, making him run away as Sam stops only doing so to drive him away. Gollum runs onto a big rock before he is then pulled off of it by Sam "Get down! I said down!"

"Sam!" Frodo yells trying to stop him from hurting Gollum.

"He's trying to trick us. If we let him go he'll throttle us in our sleep." Sam says as he looks at Frodo.

Frodo looks back at Gollum as he gasps for air and puts his hand to his neck, Frodo walks over and stands in front of Gollum who looks up at him frightened "You know the way to Mordor?" Frodo asks.

"...Yes…" Gollum says as Frodo then kneels down making him back up a bit "You've been there before?" Frodo asks.

"...Yes…" Gollum says nervously while nodding his head.

Suddenly and without saying a word, Frodo takes the rope and lifts it up over Gollum's head taking the noose off around him surprising Gollum as Sam and the Exceeds look on with looks of disapproval. "You will lead us to the Black Gate." Frodo says.

Gollum takes off, moving effortlessly through the jagged rocks on the road leaving the hobbits and Exceeds behind a bit as they try to keep up with him. "To the Gate, to the Gate! To the Gate, the master says. Yes!"

"I really don't like this, letting that thing go. I sure hope Frodo knows what he's doing." Carla says.

"If he tries anything I'll make sure he doesn't get a second chance again." Lily says.

The group eventually catch up to Gollum as he stops by a rock while crouched down on another, suddenly Gollum turns back towards them and cries out with an angered look on his face before running off "Hey!" Sam yells.

"I knew it!" Carla says as they and Sam begin to give chase after Gollum.

"Come back now! Come back!" Sam continues to yell as the group comes across a path that divides into two more, not a clue given on where Gollum went "There! What did we tell you? He's run off the old villain. So much for his promises." Sam says to Frodo.

"This way Hobbits and flying cats." suddenly Gollum pops up from behind a rock from the path to their right surprising them "Follow me!" Gollum says before ducking back behind it.

Frodo and Sam look at each other as Frodo then runs off after him, Sam looks back at the Exceeds as none of them know of what to think of Gollum, other than that they need to keep an eye on him as they look back and run off after the two.

* * *

 _Somewhere Far Away from Emyn Muil…_

The band of Uruk-hai that survived Amon Hen run down a wide grassy pathway between two rock walls, the area before and behind them a mix of grassy plains and sticking up rocks. Among the Uruk-hai however are their four prisoners, the two Hobbits Merry and Pippin, and the two Fairy Tail wizards Lucy and Wendy, the four being carried on the backs of Uruk-hai with their hands tied together around the Uruks necks as while Pippin, Lucy, and Wendy seem to be conscious, Merry does not and appears to be in a bad shape with a cut on his head.

"Merry!" Pippin quietly calls out to him, only to gain no response "Merry!" Pippin tries again.

"Merry! Are you alright?" Lucy tries calling out quietly.

"Merry-san. Please be alright." Wendy says.

Just then the Uruk at the lead of the group stops in his tracks and puts a fist up making the others stop. From behind the rocks in front of them, Isengard Orcs step out "You're late. Our master grows impatient. He wants the Shire-rats and the magic wielders now!" the leader of the Orcs says.

"I don't take orders, from Orc-maggots. Saruman will have his prize. **We** will deliver them." the Uruk leader states in an angered and annoyed tone before walking away, the looks in the Orcs' eyes showing that they did not like these Uruk-hai one bit.

Merry's mouth now hangs open as a painful moans escape from his throat "Guys...Merry doesn't look good." Lucy says as the three friends notice his illness.

"Merry! Merry! Wake up!" Pippin quietly calls as he then notices a nearby Uruk-hai drinking from a leather pouch.

"Our friend is sick." Pippin speaks up attracting the Uruks attentions.

"Pippin stop." Lucy says not really wanting to trust these things to take care of Merry. However Pippin seems to ignore her "He needs water. Please!" Pippin pleads.

Hearing the commotion the Uruk leader makes his way through his men towards the captives "He needs more then water, he needs medicine or something. Please let me go so I can heal him!" Wendy also pleads.

"Sick is he? Hah! In that case I got something better for him, give him some medicine boys!" the Uruk leader says letting out a laughter afterwards as all of the Uruks begin to let out laughter roars of their own. The Uruk with the leather pouch pushes Merry's cheeks to open up his mouth as he begins to pour what's inside his leather pouch, which is not water but some kind of syrupy liquid which seems to awaken Merry as he begins coughing and spitting the stuff out.

"Stop it!" Pippin yells.

"Merry-san!" Wendy cries out as Lucy clenches her teeth in anger.

"Can't take his draught! AHHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Uruk yells out as he and the others begin laughing/roaring.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Lucy angrily yells out.

"Why?" The Uruk leader questions as he walks up to her, Lucy shows no fear as she stares angrily at him "You want some?" Lucy doesn't reply "Then keep your mouth shut." the Uruk leader finishes as he begins to walk away.

"Merry." Pippin worryingly says.

Merry turns his head to look at Pippin, Wendy, and Lucy as the three look back at him "Hello, Pip, Ms. Wendy, Lucy." Merry says.

"Merry-san, you're hurt." Wendy says frightened.

"I'm fine. It was just an act." Merry calmly says, though his face showed he was still weak.

"An act?" Pippin and Wendy question.

"See? I fooled all you lot." Merry says making Pippin and Wendy smile a bit, though Lucy could see through the act he was putting on, he was not okay. "Don't worry about me guys." Merry says.

Suddenly the second-in-command Uruk-hai at the front of the group begins sniffing the air with an alarmed look on his face "What is it? What do you smell?" the lead Uruk asks as he returns.

The other Uruk turns and looks at him "Man-flesh." the Uruk says, causing the lead Uruk along with the others and the Orcs to begin sniffing around the air with worried looks on their faces "They've picked up our trail." the lead Uruk says.

"Aragorn." Pippin quietly whispers.

"Natsu." Lucy also quietly whispers with slight happiness coming to their faces that their friends weren't that far behind.

"Let's move!" the lead Uruk yells out as the Uruks begin to run, the Orcs joining them. As they begin to run Pippin lowers his head and bites down on the brooch he got from Lothlorien, pulling up at it until he finally tears it off his cloak as he looks around to make sure none of the Uruks are looking and then spits it down to the ground. The brooch landing in the dirt before being smashed on by a running Uruk, luckily it still remains above the dirt and seeable. Lucy sees this and smirks slightly _"You guys are going to be real sorry when Natsu and the others catch up to you…"_ she says in her head.

 _Some Distance Away…_

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - The Three Hunters)**_

Anyone that knew Natsu always knew one thing, that when he was hungry he was **hungry** , and he could scarf down probably twenty plus plates of food before he was fully satisfied. However, for situations like this where his friends were in danger, it didn't matter that he hadn't eaten anything today or for the past three days, all that mattered right now was catching up to the Uruk-hai and rescuing Lucy and the others from them. Natsu looked out over the land before him, a land full of grass, rocks both big, and small, and massive hills as next to him on the ground was Aragorn who had his left ear planted on the rock as he seemed to be listening for something, and he heard it.

"Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent." Aragorn says as he begins to slowly stand back up.

"Dammit, just means we gotta run faster than we have been." Natsu says.

"Agreed" Aragorn says stopping halfway as he turns his head back "Hurry!" he yells back before getting up into a full sprint with Natsu quickly running with him.

Not that far behind the two were Legolas, Erza, and Gray as they ran up the slope, stopping after running a few feet "Hurry? How much more hurrying can we do?" Gray questions.

"It just means that they might've picked our scent up and started running faster if these creatures' noses are as good as a Dragon Slayer's." Erza says.

"Come on Gimli! Gajeel!" Legolas calls back as the three get back to running.

A few more feet behind them was Gajeel and Gimli, the former helping the latter up onto the sticking out flat rock as Gimli breathed hard and heavily, completely out of breath "Geez, are all dwarves this slow or something? You keeping me back here's allowing Salamander and Ice for brains to run ahead of me. No way in hell am I being last." Gajeel says annoyingly to Gimli before turning and running after the others.

Gimli continues to catch his breath, completely ignoring what Gajeel had said "Three days and nights pursuit...No food...No rest...And no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell." Gimli says as he begins to walk up the slope to try and get back into his jogging speed.

The seven run as fast as they can across a grassy mountain plateau with Legolas in the lead followed by Erza, Aragorn, Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, and Gimli. Sometime later they run down a rocky part of the plateau with Aragorn now in the lead followed by Natsu, Erza, Legolas, Gajeel, Gray, and Gimli still in the back. Some more time passes by as Aragorn spots something on the ground and kneels down, in a bundle of grass he picks up from it a leaf-brooch of Lorien.

"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall." Aragorn says as he looks at it.

"One of them must've dropped it on purpose to help us out." Erza says as Legolas runs past her, Aragorn, and Natsu before coming to a stop and walking back to them. Gray and Gajeel stop behind them as Legolas looks down at the brooch "They may yet be alive." Legolas says.

"How much longer would you say they're ahead?" Gray asks

"Less than a day ahead of us. Come." Aragorn says as the group gets back to running. Behind them Gimli comes tumbling down the hill grunting out in slight pain and annoyance "Come Gimli! We're gaining on them!" Legolas calls back.

"Last one there doesn't get to kick any ass!" Gajeel yells back mockingly.

Gimli picks himself up and gets back to jogging "I'm wasted on cross-country. We Dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances." Gimli calls out.

"Then note to self, if you ever need to beat Dwarves you just got to outrun them first." Natsu humorously says.

The group turn another corner of a massive rock and run up the short hill coming upon a spot that overlooks a massive open land of even more grass and rocks; Aragorn, Legolas, Natsu, and Erza stand on some rocks with Gray, and Gajeel standing on the grass. All of them looking out into this vast, distant, new land.

"Rohan. Home of the Horse-Lords." Aragorn says as Gimli catches up to them.

"There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures. Sets its will against us." Aragorn says.

"Bet you two are wishing you had your Exceeds here now, don't yah." Gray says to Natsu and Gajeel.

"Even with Happy and Lily it wouldn't work. The Uruks would've kept their eyes out to the sky and would probably see us coming from miles away. We wouldn't have the element of surprise. Not to mention I don't even want to imagine what Carla would be going through now if she knew Wendy was kidnapped by those things. But either way we would've been doing this from the beginning, no flying." Erza says.

As she spoke Legolas hopped down to the ground below them and ran forward to another rock to overlook the land "Legolas! What do your Elf-eyes see?" Aragorn yells out.

"The Uruks turn northeast" Legolas yells out, a worried look then comes to his face "They are taking the Hobbits and Mages to Isengard!"

"Isengard? As in the place where-"

"Saruman…" Aragorn says answering Gajeel's question.

Hearing this Natsu narrows his eyes and clenches his fist completely full of anger _"Saruman...if you hurt Lucy or any of the others I'll personally kill you myself!"_ Natsu angrily states in his head.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - The Three Hunters)**_

* * *

 _ **(Re-Insert Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - The Three Hunters)**_

 _The Next Day…_

The Seven Hunters carefully run down a hill, far, far ahead of them the group of Uruk-hai and Orcs continue running as fast as they can. Aragorn, Natsu, and the others continue their run now over a mix of grassy and rocky terrain with Gimli still in the rear "Keep breathing. That's the key...Breathe...Ohhh." Gimli says to himself to keep him going.

The Uruk-hai and Orcs run across an open area, the Hunters past some massive rocks "They've run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them." Legolas says.

"There's no way those guys can't be as tired as us now." Gray says in disbelief.

"You act like we're dealing with normal people." Gajeel says.

"Seems these creatures have some pretty good endurance for having of kept ahead of us this long." Erza says.

Both groups continue, and continue to run, the Hunters hoping they are close as the sun begins to set once again before them.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - The Three Hunters)**_

 _Night Time…_

 _Outskirts of Fangorn Forest…_

Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin are tossed onto the ground making them grunt out.

"We're not going no further...until we've had a breather!" an Orc says as he and the other Orcs seem to be completely out of breathe, something the Uruk-hai may share but just don't show, or just don't care at all.

"Get a fire going!" The Uruk leader yells.

Pippin begins crawling over as fast as his binded hands can take him over to Merry "Merry! Merry!" he quietly calls out to him.

A weakened look still remains on Merry's face as he lies on the ground sideways and looks at Pippin "I think, we might have made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin." Merry says, just hearing his voice made Pippin smile.

"Wendy, are you alright?" Lucy asks the young Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah, I'm fine Lucy-san. What about you?" Wendy says.

Lucy gives her an encouraging smile "If I can handle being on a team with Natsu and the others, I can handle whatever these things do." Lucy says.

"Do you think...Do you think Natsu and the others are close to saving us? They wouldn't give up on us right?" Wendy asks.

"Of course not Wendy! You shouldn't even have thought of that. There's no way Natsu or any of them would ever abandon us no matter what." Lucy says a bit surprised.

"...Yeah...Yeah you're right. I don't know what I was thinking." Wendy says.

"Honestly, I probably could've gotten us out of this by now. If only I didn't lose my keys that is." Lucy says a bit saddened that she lost her keys when she could really use Loke or Taurus to go all out on these Uruk-hai and Orcs right now.

As the Orcs continue chopping away at the trees and branches for firewood, a loud and deep echoing groan penetrates out from deep within the forest. A sound that is seemingly ignored by the Uruks and Orcs, but not missed by the four captives "Uh~, you guys heard that too...right?" Lucy asks as they group back together.

"What was that? It sounded really scary…" Wendy says in a frightened tone.

"What in the world was making that noise?" Pippin asks as he looks at Merry.

Merry lifts his head up and looks towards the forest with awe "It's the trees."

"What?" Pippin says as at the same time the two girls say "Eh?"

"Pippin you might remember this, but for you two, there was this place called the Old Forest. It was on the borders of Buckland of the Shire. The folk there used to say there was something in the water that made the trees grow tall...and come alive." Merry explains.

"Alive?" Pippin, Lucy, and Wendy question at the same time.

"Trees that could whisper...talk to each other...even move." Merry finishes as he looks back at the others who look back at him in awe.

"Amazing…" Wendy says.

"I'm starving. We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days." An Uruk complains as he tosses his wrapped up bread aside in anger and annoyance.

"Yeah! Why can't we have some meat?!" An Orc questions as he begins looking around, before his eyes come upon Lucy and the others who hear this and look at him with fear.

'What about them? They're fresh." the Orc says as he grins with glee.

The lead Uruk approaches the Orc as the other Uruks begin to recover from catching their breaths "They are not for eating!" the lead Uruk states.

Two Uruks walk over and pick the four up by their arms and begin pulling them away to keep them away from the Orcs as the leader of the pack of Orcs appears staring at them "What about their legs? They don't need those." the Orc says causing Merry to look down at his legs as the others just stare with fright back at him.

"Oo~ they look tasty." the Orc says with glee as he then attempts to rush them, only for the Uruk leader to quickly push him back "Get back you scum!" the act causes both the Orcs and the Uruks to get a bit rowdy and tensed up as they prepare their weapons in case things go bad.

"A-Actually we-we do need our legs!" Lucy speaks up trying to buy themselves even more time as her speaking up draws the Uruks and Orcs' attention to her "I-If you cut our legs off then we could die of blood loss and your master doesn't want his prisoners dead now right?" Lucy says.

"Quiet you!" the Orc leader angrily yells.

"No! The prisoners go to Saruman. Alive, and unspoiled." the Uruk leader says keeping his eyes on the Orc leader.

"Alive?" the Orc leader questions confused as he moves to his left to get a good look at the four "Why alive? Do they give good sport?" the Orc leader asks the Uruk leader.

Now that Lucy and the others thought about it, why were they kidnapped in the first place? It was a question that didn't come to their mind until now since it was obvious these Uruks were only doing what they were told or otherwise they'd be dead right now and probably lunch.

"The halflings have something. An Elvish weapon. The master wants it for the war. And as for the young Man females, they and a few of their comrades possess strange abilities, the master wants to find out what these abilities are and how they are able to do it since it could prove troublesome for the war." the Uruk leader says.

Unknown to anyone, the Orc from before has now snuck behind the Uruks and is quietly making his way to Merry, Lucy, Wendy, and Pippin with his blade drawn, ready to cut a part of one of them off for some meat "They think we have the Ring." Pippin quietly says to Merry.

"Sh~! As soon as they find out we don't we're dead." Merry quickly says.

"Are they talking about our magic?" Wendy asks Lucy.

"That's the only thing I can think of. After all there's not supposed to other magic-wielders except for a few people like Gandalf, and Saruman." Lucy answers.

"Just a mouthful…" the Orc suddenly speaks up alerting the four captives and Uruks to his presence "...A bit off the flank." the Orc finishes as he brings his sword back to cut at them, when suddenly the Uruk leader rushes in making the Orc's eyes widen in terror as the Uruk leader swings his sword.

Cutting the head of the Orc off as it lands in front of Merry and Pippin with Lucy and Wendy looking on in horror at what just happened, the four turn around to see the headless Orc's body then fall to the ground "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!" the Uruk leader says, causing all of the other Uruk-hai to roar out in a cheer as then the Uruks push the four aside to the ground to get at the Orc body.

Some of the Uruks begin tearing away at the Orcs body to get at the meat, while a few others keep their eyes on the orcs keeping them back "Guys, now's our chance!" Lucy quietly says with urge.

"She's right, Pippin, let's go." Merry says as the four quickly begin crawling away. The Uruks too busy with the Orcs and the dead Orc body to even notice them as they make their way towards the forest.

Suddenly a foot steps onto Pippin's back stopping him in place and making him turn around with his teeth clenched in fear, now facing upwards he finds himself face to face with the Orc leader who seemed to have been the only one to notice the four prisoners trying to escape "Go on...Call for help." the Orc leader says.

The Orc leader grabs Pippin by the cheeks and lifts his face up "Squeal...No one's going to save you now." the Orc says as he raises his sword to Pippin's face, when suddenly a spear imbeds itself into his back stopping the Orc and causing him to cry out in pain before falling to his side. This catches Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin's attention as they look back/forward, as the Uruk-hai and Orcs also notice the sounds of horse hooves stomping their way towards them from the darkness.

From the darkness suddenly, what appear to be men, soldiers by the looks of it riding on horses charge in causing the Orcs and Uruks to run away in fear as one of the soldiers throws a spear which drives itself right into the back of an Uruk as other Orcs and Uruks are trampled down by the horses. "Pippin!" Merry calls out.

"Wendy! Stay close!" Lucy calls out to Wendy.

From both sides to their left and right, the Uruks and Orcs find themselves attacked by soldiers on horseback who begin cutting away at their forces with their swords and axes, spears are thrown and arrows are fired from their bows as the Uruks and Orcs begin falling down dead all over the place. Pippin looks around in fright in the confusion of the battle before suddenly turning over onto his back, only to find himself looking up at a rearing horse making him cry out in terror as the horse's hooves stomp back on the ground.

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **Mew Sakura the Cyniclon:** Glad you're enjoying the story so far, some of the parts were inspired a bit from your own story actually which is good itself. Anyways though for the Watcher part, the reason why I don't mention it by name is because the Fellowship doesn't know that so I just called it the creature or whatever.

To **Vi-Violence:** Yeah, it does allow me to include Frodo and Sam's journey in the story and also does make a few things more difficult for Team Natsu since they've lost the ability to fly into the air to rain their attacks down on the enemy. Had to take that part into consideration or else some future battles like Helms Deep and Minas Tirith would've been won more easily.

To **FlameDragonHime:** You will have to wait to find out ;)

To **Warmachine375:** Okay, people have to understand that Boromir's death is IMPORTANT to the rest of the Lord of the Rings story since it leads to Denethor's madness, and Minas Tirith really needing help because of their low morale fighting the Mordor forces. While I don't like it, Boromir's death is a necessity for all Lord of the Rings stories. And come on, while the Uruks are strong are you telling me that a superhuman punch from Natsu's flames, or being cut down by Erza's blades isn't going to stop them? I mean come on they aren't THAT strong. How many times have Team Natsu one-shotted very large monsters themselves. And I respect your opinion, not one of those crazy shippers who are all "WHAT YOU'RE NOT A NALU SHIPPER GET OUT OF HERE" I respect who you ship, but expect that to be the main one for this story, cause I see something between the two a lot more then Natsu with anyone else, even Lisanna. There's a lot more moments involving those two in the series and that's why I think NaLu is better then any other "ships" out there. I will get to Erza's part on warrior women when the time comes, especially since that will be soon after all. I'm pretty sure they were all feeling bad in their own ways like everyone else, I just didn't write those parts in. So you're telling me that Natsu would let a ring tell him, to hurt his friends? Yeah...I find that just dumb. Natsu fights to protect his friends and all of Fairy Tail, and you're telling me a ring is going to persuade him to harm his friends, the very people he fights to protect? I find that just hard to believe which is why I believe the way I did that part is right. Aaaaand there it is...you're just like another person for my Spartan Prophecy story "Carbon Copy" yeah, well guess what to me Crossovers are half of that sometimes. Just including characters in the story from another form of media to help the characters in this story out changing a few things around, but not major parts that are important to the story. To me, that's what some crossovers are while the others are fully original stories. This is what I like, so please respect it, and if you have nothing good to say, then just don't and let the other people enjoy this story.


	8. The Forest of Fangorn & Dead Marshes

The sun had begun to rise on a new day as the Seven Hunters continued their trek across Rohan. Legolas stopped in his tracks and turned looking towards the sun "A red sun rises…Blood has been spilled this night." Legolas says with a worried tone.

Sometime passes by as the sun has now fully risen in the air with the group stopping in the open as Aragorn kneels down to look at something on the ground, when suddenly the sound of a horse neigh sounds out catching his and everyone else's attention. "We got company." Natsu says as he and Gajeel can both hear the sounds of incoming horse hooves, lots of them.

Aragorn quickly signals the group to hide behind some rocks a few feet away as they quickly run towards and get behind them. A few seconds pass by before suddenly the riders from the night before appear over the ridge, many of them armed with spears which they hold by their sides while a few carry a green flag on the side of the spear's tip with a white horse and the corner of an orange sun on it. Aragorn and the others watch as the riders gallop on by as Aragorn and Legolas however seem to recognize who they are as they look at each other, Aragorn stands up and steps out of cover with the others following behind him "Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" Aragorn calls out.

Suddenly who appears to be the leader of the large group of horse riders raises his spear into the air holding it sideways tilting it up a bit, a signal to his men to turn around as they all do so and begin heading back towards Aragorn and the others "Friends of yours?" Erza asks.

"I just know who they are, not personally. Just, don't do anything, remain calm no matter what." Aragorn says.

The Riders of Rohan soon close in on the group of hunters and begin to surround them, forcing the group into a circle as the soldiers completely surround them and lower their spears pointing them right towards them. Aragorn raises his hands slightly to show that they meant no harm "So is this the whole remain calm no matter what thing?" Gray quietly questions.

"Let me at these punks, we don't have time for this." Natsu angrily says.

"No, stand down Natsu." Erza says.

The leader of the group rides through his men up towards Aragorn and the others "What business does an Elf, a Man, a Dwarf, and some children have in the Riddermark?" the man questions as the group faces towards him. "Speak quickly!" the man demands.

"Who the hell does he think he's calling children?" Gajeel angrily questions quietly while narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli says.

The man does not seem to like either what Gimli said, or his tone as he hands his spear off to one of his men on the right and then dismounts his horse as he walks up to him "I would cut off your head, Dwarf...if it stood but a little higher from the ground." the man threatens.

And just like that Natsu rushes up in front of Aragorn and the others and blasts his fists aflame "Do that and I'll more than gladly kick your ass before you even pulled your sword out!" Natsu threatens as the use of his magic immediately frightens the soldiers of Rohan and their horses, making the animals back away in fear as the soldiers and Eomer all look on in shock at what they are seeing as his men ready their spears to attack.

"Natsu!" Aragorn angrily says as he steps in front and looks at him angrily. Natsu looks back at Aragorn with gritted teeth but after a few tense seconds reluctantly puts out his fire.

"What manner of-" the man questions before Aragorn quickly turns back at him and interrupts "My apologies for my friend here. He can be brash at times such as this." Aragorn says.

"Nice going flame head." Gray insults.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli son of Gloin, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, and Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlett, Gray Fullbuster, and Gajeel Redfox of a guild known as Fairy Tail from a faraway land. We are friends of Rohan and of Theoden, your king." Aragorn explains.

Hearing what Aragorn says seems to get rid of the shocked look on the man's face, as it then turns into one of sadness "Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin." the man says as he removes his helmet revealing his long dirty blonde hair. This act seems to make his men finally stand down as they lower their spears.

"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king, and claimed lordship over these lands." the man explains causing a bit of worry for the group who share looks at one another. "My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished."

Aragorn looks back at the man who steps a bit closer to him and begins to speak quietly "The White Wizard is cunning...He walks here and there, they say...as an old man hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets." the man says as he looks towards Natsu who stares back at him with his eyes narrowed.

"We are no spies. Despite what our young friend here is capable of. We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken four of our friends captive." Aragorn says catching the man's attention.

"...The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night." the man says causing Gray and Gajeel to grunt in shock hearing this as they look at each other. Natsu hearing this clenches his teeth with a worried look on his face.

"But there were two Hobbits. Did you see two Hobbits with them?!" Gimli quickly asks in a worried tone.

"And two young girls, one around our age and another much younger than the rest of us." Erza questions also worried with widened eyes.

"The Hobbits would be small, only children to your eyes." Aragorn explains.

The man does not say anything for a few seconds as he looks at the ground with his eyes, before lifting them up and looking at Aragorn "We left none alive."

Hearing this brings shock and horror to the group "We piled the carcasses and burned them." the man says as he points in the direction of where the Uruk-hai were as off in the distance smoke could be seen.

"Dead?" Gimli questions.

"Why?" Natsu questions making the man look at him out of the corner of his eyes "Why the hell didn't you look before you killed everyone?!" Natsu angrily questions as he begins to approach the man again, though quickly Gray and Gajeel rush behind him and wrap their arms around his shoulders to hold him back.

"Oi! Salamander!" Gajeel yells.

"Stop it, Natsu!" Gray yells as Natsu struggles to break free of their grasp.

"You cannot blame me for what I did not know. It was dark, and all we knew was that there was a pack of Uruk-hai. Had we known they had prisoners with them, we would've been more careful and rescued them...I am sorry." the man says without even turning his head to look at Natsu.

Hearing this Erza lowers her head in sadness as Legolas turns away with sadness on his face as well and puts a comforting hand on Gimli's shoulder. Just then the man whistles "Hasufel! Arod! Hunter! Equinox! Nobleman! Braveheart!" the man calls out.

Just then six armored up horses are brought forth towards the group, two whites, two browns, and two blacks as the man grabs the reins of them "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters...Farewell." the man says handing the horses off to Aragorn and the others as he turns and heads back to his horse.

The man places his helmet back on and mounts his horse as the group look at their new horses "Look for your friends" the man says as he moves his horse behind Aragorn who turns and looks up at him "But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!" the man orders to his men as they begin to gallop away.

With the Rohirrim moving out Gray and Gajeel release their hold on Natsu who pulls his arms away from the two and just looks on angrily at the leader of the Rohirrim before turning away and going to one of the white horses. The group each take a horse as their own and mount them, Gimli riding with Legolas however as they prepare to head off towards where the carcasses are. All they could hope for now, was that their friends might've survived and weren't burned along with the rest of the Uruks.

* * *

The group ride towards the smoke as Aragorn and Erza ride atop the two brown horses, Natsu, Legolas and Gimli the two white horses, and Gray, and Gajeel the black horses. The group's horses gallop over a small hill and soon they spot the pile of burned Uruk carcasses before them, weapons and arrows scattered around the pile with one of the spears sticking out of the ground having one of the Uruks head on it. Dismounting the horses the group look on in horror at the remains of the enemy force that took their friends; Gimli and Erza use their weapons to quickly begin searching through the carcasses for signs of their friends while Aragorn, Natsu, Legolas, Gray, and Gajeel look around for anything that could give them a clue of their friend's whereabouts.

As Natsu looks around he spots something on the ground just a few feet away and quickly rushes over to see what it was, stopping above it Natsu's eyes widen as he immediately recognizes the item and kneels down to picks it up, it was Lucy's whip "Lucy…" Natsu says.

Back at the pile Gimli spots something amongst the charred bodies and reaches in, grabbing and pulling out...one of the Hobbits' belts. Erza seeing this stops in her tracks as her eyes widened in horror, Gimli turned around and showed his finding to the others "It's one of their wee belts." Gimli says in sadness.

" _May they find peace after death…"_ Legolas whispers with his head lowered.

Gray and Gajeel lower their heads, saddened looks on their faces as Gray grits his teeth. Aragorn turns away before suddenly throwing his body around to the right and kicking a helmet across the ground as he lets out an angered cry into the air and falls onto his knees. Clenching his hands into fists and lowering his head Aragorn eases the tension on his hands and just lets them drop onto his legs.

"We failed them…" Gimli says.

Erza is clearly seen on the edge of crying, tears in her eyes ready to start streaming down her face as she looks away. Natsu continues to look down at Lucy's whip in his hands, before suddenly clenching them into fists as the pupils in his eyes seem to disappear entirely leaving his eyes completely blank. Natsu opens his mouth clenching his teeth which seemed to have sharpened as a few sobs escape from his throat, before suddenly raising his head and letting out an even louder, and deafening "roaring" cry of anger into the air "ARGH~!"

Out of anger Natsu tosses Lucy's whip aside and stands back up "That does it! Where's Saruman?! I'm going to rip him apart limb by limb!" Natsu yells out before flames explode out from his body. The intense brightness and heat from the fire makes most of the others except Aragorn, and Erza flinch back a bit.

"Hey! Dumbass! Watch that fire or you're gonna burn that forest down!" Gray angrily yells out.

"Merry...Pippin...Wendy...Lucy. You're gonna pay Saruman! You hear me! You're dead!" Natsu continues to yell out into the air ignoring Gray.

"Calm yourself Natsu, before you cause more harm than need be!" Legolas says.

Natsu ignores this and continues growling in anger, which seems to slowly intensify the fire more and more as it grows "Hey! Salamander!" Gajeel yells.

"Erza! Control this moron before he hurts us!" Gray yells at Erza who is completely zoned out.

Anger, anger, anger, anger...that was all Natsu could feel right now. He had failed to protect them...to protect Lucy...was there any reason to return home anymore? Without Wendy and Lucy? Just then something...familiar flew into Natsu's nose, a familiar scent...which drifted into the other direction away from the pile of corpses. Getting another whiff of the smell began to calm Natsu down considerably before he was then back to normal "What in the world?" Natsu questions quietly.

Seeing Natsu suddenly calm down confused and caught the attention of the others, except for Aragorn who turned his head to the ground and took notice of something himself, it looked like a patch of dirt that had been disturbed, like someone was on top of it. Natsu began to follow the scent "Now what is he doing?" Gray questions.

Gajeel began sniffing the air like his fellow Dragon Slayer "Hold on a second. I think he might be onto something." Gajeel says.

Natsu walked past Aragorn and then got down on his hands and knees and smelled another area of dirt and grass "A Hobbit lay here. And the other." Aragorn says as he reaches over and moves some dirt around just a bit ahead of him before pulling back.

"Lucy was here. Wendy right next to her." Natsu says as he continues sniffing the ground.

 _Flashback to the Night before…_

Pippin rolls onto his back, only to find himself looking up at a rearing horse making him cry out in terror as the horse's hooves stomp back on the ground. Only at the last second Pippin quickly rolls back to his left to barely dodge them.

 _Present Time…_

"They crawled…" Aragorn continues as everyone pays close attention to what Aragorn and Natsu are doing.

 _Flashback…_

Pippin crawled forward as the battle around him continued to rage on. Nearby Lucy and Wendy continued crawling away together, until suddenly Wendy heard something behind them and turned around "Lucy-san look out!" Wendy yells as Lucy turns around to see an Uruk running towards them. Until it is shot in the back by one of the horsemen making it fall forward. Lucy quickly rolled to her left and Wendy her right as the two dodge the falling Uruk that now lay on the ground dead.

"We gotta get out of these stupid ropes!" Lucy angrily says before continuing forward. Though she failed to notice that in that roll she had somehow lost her whip.

 _Present Time…_

"Their hands were bound." Aragorn says as both he and Natsu stand up and continue to follow the scent/tracks of their four friends.

 _Flashback…_

Lucy continued crawling when suddenly she came across one of the dead Uruks axes with its blade sticking up as she quickly began using it to cut the ropes bounding her hands. Pippin had also been lucky nearby as well also finding an Uruk axe which he began to use to cut his bounds.

 _Present…_

Aragorn pulled out from the trampled grass some rope which was obviously used to bound their friends' hands together "Their bonds were cut." Aragorn says as nearby Natsu picked up another piece of rope picking up Lucy's scent from it before tossing it away.

 _Flashback…_

As fast as they could Lucy, and Pippin untied the ropes on Wendy, and Merry's hands freeing them as all four got up and began to run, though being careful of where it was they ran or risk getting killed by either the Uruks, the Orcs, or the Rohirrim since the latter would probably mistake them for the enemy.

 _Present…_

On, and on, the seven continued as Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Legolas, and Gimli kept closely behind Aragorn and Natsu who seemed to be onto something. Something that could perhaps not only prove their friends were alive, but that they had escaped somewhere. "They ran over here...They were followed." Aragorn says.

 _Flashback…_

The four continued running, when suddenly Merry felt someone tug on his belt making him stop in his tracks as he turned around to see that it was that Orc from before. He was still alive somehow! Lucy reached for her whip...only to find that it was gone "Huh? Where's my whip?!" Lucy questions in panic.

"The belt!" Merry yells as he quickly unbuckles it.

"Oh forget it **Lucy Kick!"** Lucy yells as she kicks the orc right in the face allowing the four to turn and quickly start running again. The orc immediately recovered and looked at the belt in its hand before angrily tossing it to the ground and crawling back after them.

"Run!" Merry yells.

"This way! Hurry!" Lucy yells.

 _Present…_

Aragorn and Natsu jogged in the direction they were "Tracks lead away from the battle…" Aragorn says.

"Same with their scents!" Natsu says.

 _Flashback…_

The four then run into the thick bushes that led into the forest.

 _Present…_

Aragorn, and Natsu both stop in their tracks and look up making the others do too "...into Fangorn Forest." Aragorn says, his tone though sounding troubled.

"Fangorn? What madness drove them in there?" Gimli questions in shock and awe as he looks into the deep darkness that is Fangorn Forest before them.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Natsu urgently says before he is suddenly stopped by Aragorn making him look at him confused. "What's wrong? They're alive we need to hurry up before that Uruk gets them his scent leads into there as well!" Natsu says.

"You do not understand Natsu...there is more to this forest, than meets the eye. We must tread carefully in here, or else...none of us will be walking out alive." Aragorn says.

"Why? What's the matter with this place?" Erza asks.

"We will explain on the way, just stay close to one another." Aragorn urgently says as he, Legolas, and Gimli begin to head into the forest. The Fairy Tail wizards begin to follow immediately after, except for Natsu who stops in his tracks all of a sudden, and then turning around runs back and grabs Lucy's whip.

* * *

 _Somewhere deep inside Fangorn Forest…_

Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin continue running deeper, and deeper into the dark, creepy forest. "Come on Wendy, stay close." Lucy says stopping to allow the young Dragon Slayer to catch up.

"Sorry I can't do anything Lucy-san. But, I'm too weak since we haven't had anything to eat or drink in days. And the air in here...there's something wrong with it." Wendy says.

"It's alright Wendy, I'm not doing so well either. Though I'm really wishing I had my whip or keys right about now." Lucy says as Wendy catches up allowing the two to get back to running.

After some more running the two Hobbits take cover by a tree as they sit down with Lucy and Wendy quickly rejoining them as the two kneel down beside them, all four of them looking around to see if they can spot the Orc anywhere "Did we lose him? I think we lost him." Pippin says.

"Wendy? You hear anything?" Merry asks the young Dragon Slayer.

"I...I don't know. This place...whatever it is there's something about this place that's messing with my hearing and smell. I don't know." Wendy replies unsure.

Just then the sounds of something, or worse yet someone, moving through the brushes nearby catch the group's attention as they all turn towards the sound to see the Orc leader come out from a bush as he looks around until spotting them. Seeing the Orc the four quickly get back up and resume running "I'm going to rip out your filthy little innards!" the Orc leader angrily yells out, a sword in his hand with blood coming out his mouth.

Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin take cover behind another tree "Come here!" the Orc leader yells again, his voice sounding much closer forcing them to run again.

They run no more than a few feet before they stop, unsure of where to go. "Trees. Climb a tree." Merry says. The four rush to the closest tree behind them as Pippin and Merry begin to climb first, Lucy, and Wendy following after them up the same tree as the two Hobbits manage to reach the top, Lucy on one of the lower branches holding her hand out for Wendy to grab to help her get higher "Do you see anything?" Lucy quietly asks.

The two Hobbits keep their heads down but look around, and see no signs of the Orc anywhere "Nothing. He's gone." Merry says as he and Pippin smile with relief.

Lucy is also relieved to hear this letting out a sigh as she turns back around to help Wendy as she reaches out for her hand. When all of a sudden Wendy is pulled down from the tree letting out a terrified scream "Wendy!" Lucy cries out in horror.

Wendy is pulled onto the ground by the Orc, the Sky Dragon Slayer terrified attempts to crawl away backwards but the Orc simply follows her with his sword at the ready. "Leave her alone!" Lucy yells as she jumps off the tree onto the Orc's back knocking him down as she rolls off him. The two Hobbits look on in fear, the two not knowing what to do since they weren't armed, and there was nothing around for them to throw at the Orc. Lucy quickly gets back up and rushes over to Wendy, spreading her arms out while kneeling down on her left knee as the Orc recovers and stands up "Don't you touch her!" Lucy angrily declares.

The Orc simply gives off a sadistic grin as he slowly begins approaching the two Fairy Tail mages "Lucy!" Merry yells.

"Wendy!" Pippin yells.

Unknown to the two however, their screaming seems to have...waken up the tree? The trees eyes open up just as Merry and Pippin turn their heads back towards the tree but look away, when suddenly it dawns upon the both of them what they had just seen as then the tree lets out a...yawn? The two slowly turn their heads back towards and look right at the tree's eyes as the tree blinks a few times.

"Augh!" Pippin yelps as he and Merry are just lost in complete fear and shock at what they are seeing. So much that they accidentally release their hold on the tree as it turns its head and looks at them with curiosity. Both Merry and Pippin attempt to reach back and grab onto the tree but are unable to as they both let out a cry and fall back, however both of them are caught in the trees right hand as the Orc brings his sword up, completely unaware of what's happening behind him "Let's put some maggot hole in your bellies!" the Orc leader says towards Lucy and Wendy who become too distracted by what they see behind the Orc to even pay attention to him as their eyes widen in shock.

The tree lifts up its right leg knocking some dirt off it to the ground as the Orc hears the noise behind him and stops to looks back out of the corner of his eyes. As he fully turns his head around the tree slams its leg down right onto the Orc killing it as Lucy helps Wendy up and the two stumble back in fear.

"Lucy! Wendy! Run!" Pippin yells.

The two listen and quickly turn around to start running, the tree however gives chase and with its long legs and strides the two young mages are unable to get even a few feet before the tree scoops the two girls up in its left hand causing them both to cry out. The hobbits, and mages, find themselves unable to do a thing in the tight grasp of the walking, living tree as they struggle to break free from its hands, all the while the tree just looks at the four with a stern look in its eyes.

"Little Orcs, bu-la-rum," the tree says making the four stop their struggles in shock.

"Uh~, what?" Lucy says as then the talking tree begins to walk forward through the forest.

"Guys...It's talking. The tree is talking." Pippin says.

"Tree?! I am no tree! I am an Ent." the talking tree, now identified as an Ent says.

"An Ent?" Wendy asks confused.

Merry however seems to recognize the name as he looks at the Ent with awe "A tree-herder. A shepherd of the forest."

"Don't talk to it Merry. Don't encourage it!" Pippin worryingly says.

"U-Um, Mr. Ent sir, d-do you have a name perhaps?" Lucy asks.

"Treebeard, some call me." Treebeard says.

"And whose side are you on?" Pippin asks.

"Side? I am on nobody's side...because nobody's on my side, little Orc. Nobody cares for the woods anymore." Treebeard says.

"Huh?! Orcs?! We don't even look anywhere near what they look like!" Lucy says in shock hearing that this Treebeard thinks they're Orcs.

"We're not Orcs! We're Hobbits!" Merry says trying to correct him.

"Hobbits?" Treebeard questions, it appeared he had never heard of Hobbits before.

"And we're humans Mr. Treebeard!" Wendy says.

"Yeah, I mean have you ever seen or heard of any young, female Orcs before? I don't think so!" Lucy says.

"Hm~. That is true. There are no such things as any female Orcs. Perhaps you two are indeed humans. But...as for Hobbits. Never heard of a Hobbit before. Sounds like Orc mischief to me!" Treebeard angrily says as he suddenly begins to slowly crush Merry and Pippin in his right hand making them cringe and gasp out in pain.

"Merry-san! Pippin-san!" Wendy cries out in fright.

"Stop it! They're our friends you're hurting them!" Lucy yells at Treebeard.

However Treebeard seems to ignore this "They come with fire. They come with axes. Gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning! Destroyers and usurpers! Curse them!" Treebeard begins to yell as his anger seems to grow.

"No! You don't understand. We're Hobbits! Halflings! Shire-folk!" Merry yells but it doesn't stop Treebeard from crushing them.

"Maybe you are, and maybe you aren't. The White Wizard will know." Treebeard says as he stops crushing the Hobbits.

"The White Wizard?" Pippin quietly says.

"Saruman…" Merry says in shock.

"S-Saruman?" Wendy says in shock hearing this since he was supposed to be their enemy.

"W-Wait a minute! I thought the Orcs were your enemies?! Shouldn't that make Saruman your enemy as well?!" Lucy yells out questioning him.

However he does not respond, simply dropping the Hobbits as he carefully lowers Lucy and Wendy to the ground and releases them. The Hobbits look up from the ground while the mages turn around, their eyes widened at the figure in a bright white robe and long white hair before them.

* * *

 _Emyn Muil…_

Gollum leaps through a narrow pathway between the rocks before starting his climb up another one with Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds closely behind him. "See? See? We've led you out." Gollum says as Frodo and the others look up at him and climb up the rocks a few feet before arriving at the top.

"Hurry Hobbitses and Kitties. Hurry!" And like that, they were finally out of the labyrinth of rocks that is Emyn Muil as now before them was a massive, distant, wide-opened land of what looked like grasses and ponds all over. The high mountainous walls of Mordor right across them "Very lucky we find you." Gollum says before turning his head and looking out at the vast land.

As Frodo continues forward with Happy and Carla, Sam, and Lily begin to follow but look at Gollum questionably making him cower back a bit "Nice Hobbit and Kitty." Gollum says before leaping on after the others.

 _Sometime later…_

Sam accidentally plants his feet into a knee-length pond of wet, spongy ground making him yelp out a bit "Oh! It's a bog. He's led us into a swamp." Sam says as they now realized where they actually were, was some kind of marshland. Water, nasty spongy grounds, and some creepy looking vegetation and some mist all over for miles around.

"A swamp, yes, yes. Come master. We will take you on safe paths through the mist." Gollum says while waving with his right hand to follow him.

"Come Hobbits and Kitties! Come! We go quickly. I found it. I did. The way through the marshes. Orcs don't use it, Orcs don't know it. They go around for miles and miles. Come quickly. Soft and quick as shadows we must be." Gollum says.

 _Some more time later…_

"I hate this place, it's too quiet. There's been no sight nor sound of a bird for two days." Sam says as the group sit down to rest and recover from the very long trek so far through these marshlands.

"No, no birdses to eat. No crunchable birdses" Gollum says in a sad tone as behind him Sam, and Happy begin to distribute some lembas bread to their friends to eat.

"We are famished! Yes! Famished we are, precious!" Gollum cries out.

"I don't like this place. Not just because of what Sam said. But I just don't like the...atmosphere of it. It just...doesn't seem right to travel through here. Perhaps we should've just taken the long way around, it might've been safer." Carla says.

"But if what Gollum said was true and the Orcs do that, then the chances of running into a large group of them might be too high." Happy says.

"Happy's right. As much as I don't like this place either, at least this Gollum knows his way through and we don't have to worry about the enemy finding us." Lily says.

The three Exceeds then hear a slurping sound and look over to see Gollum slurp what looks like a worm into his mouth to eat as he does so without a problem. "An~d like that, I just lost my appetite." Lily says as he hands Happy back his piece of bread who puts it away as Sam seeing this also seems to lose interest.

"Here." Frodo says tossing a piece of his bread over to Gollum, the bread landing on the ground next to him as Gollum looks at it "What does it eats? Is it tasty?" Gollum happily asks as he circles around the bread and looks at Frodo. Before grabbing it and giggling as he tosses the bread into his mouth and starts chewing, only to suddenly start choking on it as he gags and spits it out falling onto his hands.

"It tries to chokes us! We can't eats Hobbit food!" Gollum says as he looks back at them and turns away.

"Technically it's not Hobbit food." Lily says.

"We must starve!" Gollum complains into the air.

"Well starve then. And good riddance!" Sam says.

"Agreed!" Carla says as the two eye him angered and annoyed.

Gollum slowly crawls towards them "Oh~, cruel Hobbit and Kitty. They do not care if we be hungry. Does not care if we should die." Gollum says stopping a few feet away from them as he then looks at Frodo with a saddened look "Not like master. Master cares. Master knows…" Frodo slowly turns his head and looks at Gollum.

"Yes~. Precious." Gollum whispers loudly as Frodo lifts his right hand and puts it on his chest where the Ring is, making Gollum also put his hand to his own chest "Once it takes hold of us...it never lets go." Gollum says as he suddenly begins reaching forward slowly.

This catches Frodo's attention as he quickly swats Gollum's hand away "Don't touch me!" he says making Gollum look at him with shock written on his face. Gollum turns and slowly begins to walk away with Sam and the Exceeds eyeing him cautiously, though he goes a few feet and slowly lowers himself to the ground to get some rest.

 _Later…_

On their way through the marsh once again, the group take notice of a few burning bushes which causes them no worry since it appears they aren't spreading. Frodo and Sam watch carefully where they step as the Exceeds slowly fly through the air above them, except for Happy when he notices something glowing in the water and begins to hover over towards it. Looking down into the water, Happy then notices that what was glowing in it, was the pale face of a human man.

"AH~!" Happy cries out in shock and terror as he turns around and books it through the air, flying right into Sam's face making him lose his balance for a bit as he is completely taken off guard by what just happened. Frodo is about ready to catch Sam when he manages to regain his balance and pulls Happy off his face "Happy, what is wrong with you?! You almost knocked me over!" Sam says.

Carla and Lily turn around except for Gollum who continues forward, the four then take notice that Happy's shaking and his face looks like he had just seen a ghost or something really terrifying "I-In the water! There's a dead person's face in there!" Happy cries out.

Frodo, Sam, Carla, and Lily listen to Happy and look at the water, and see more faces of not just human men, but elves both male and female alike. Seeing this terrifies both Carla and Lily as they both gasp in shock at what they see "What in the world? What's with the dead things, the dead faces in the water?" Sam questions.

"All dead. All rotten. Elves and Men and Orcses. A great battle long ago." Gollum explains as he stops in his tracks, the others begin moving forward again now even more cautiously. Gollum turns his head back towards them "Dead Marshes. Yes. Yes, that is their name...This way." Gollum gestures as he continues forward.

"Don't follow the lights." Gollum warns, just as then Sam accidentally slips and his right leg falls into the water "Sam!" Carla says with worry as she and Happy grab his cloak and help him out of the water.

Gollum turns around again "Careful now! Or Hobbits go down to join the dead ones, and light little candles of their own." Gollum says before continuing forward again.

"The water's not that deep. I'm sure Sam and Frodo will be just fine. And if they need help we can do that." Lily says.

"It is not the water, you should be worrying about." Gollum says, making the Exceeds and Sam exchange concerned looks. Unknown to any of them however, Frodo seems to have become distracted by the lights of the dead faces and begins to head off into the wrong direction away from the others. Closer and closer he gets to the edge of the water, finding himself drawn towards one dead male Elf soldier in the water as he soon reaches the edge and just looks down at the dead face. A blank stare in his eyes as he starts to waver back and forth.

Sam turns around to check on Frodo, and immediately spots him as his face turns into one of shock and fear "Frodo!" Sam yells making the Exceeds turn around. Just then the eyes of the dead elf open, revealing nothing but pale white eyes and pupils as Frodo's eyes widen and he falls forward into the water.

"Frodo!" the three Exceeds yell out as they begin to fly and Sam run to save Frodo.

Under the water, Frodo's face has turned into one of terror as everything around him appears green. Just then, the white/green ghostly and grotesque form of the dead elf appears and slowly floats towards him with its right hand stretched out. Frodo finds himself unable to move, his mind just going blank as soon more ghostly disfigured forms appear around him, all of them reaching out towards and getting closer to him. Just as something horrible is about to happen to Frodo, a hand reaches into the water grabbing his left shoulder and pulls on him.

Frodo is pulled out from the water completely soaked as he gasps out for air he needs. Catching his breath Frodo turns to his left, and is surprised to see that his savior is "Gollum?"

"Don't follow the lights." Gollum warns him again before turning and walking away a few feet before turning his head back as Sam and the Exceeds finally arrive.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam says with worry.

"Frodo!" the Exceeds call out as they all surround him, Frodo however continued to look at Gollum who turned and continued walking away. The shocked look remained on Frodo's face that out of everyone, Gollum had saved him! The heartless creature that just wanted nothing but the Ring, saved him? He just couldn't believe it.

"Are you alright?" Sam asks.

 _Nighttime…_

Night has fallen as the raging storm of red and orange lightning continues to flash off in Mordor's darkened skies. Sam and the Exceeds sleep away peacefully, as for Frodo however, he is awake and seems to be in a trance as he slowly strokes the Ring in his left hand.

"So~ bright. So~ beautiful." Frodo hears Gollum say making him panic a bit as he quickly places the Ring back under his clothing and turns to look up, seeing Gollum a few feet away from him. Crouched down with something in his left hand stroking it "Our~ precious~." Gollum finishes.

"What did you say?" Frodo asks.

"Master should be resting. Master needs to keep up his strength." Gollum says turning his head slightly.

Frodo however stands up and walks over stopping a few feet away from him "Who are you?" he questions.

"Mustn't ask us. Not its business. Gollum! Gollum!"

Frodo walks closer and kneels down behind him "Gandalf told me you were one of the river-folk." Frodo says.

" _Cold be heart and hand and bone. Cold be travelers far from home."_ Gollum begins to sing seemingly trying to ignore Frodo's questions and statements. This doesn't stop him however as he then moves around in front of him "He said your life was a sad story."

" _They do not see what lies ahead. When sun has failed and moon is dead."_

"You were not so very different from a Hobbit once. Were you?" Frodo asks as Gollum begins to slowly turn his head back towards Frodo with a saddened look on his face.

"Sméagol." Frodo whispers.

This seems to catch Gollum's attention as he slowly lifts his head up and look at Frodo with wide eyes "What did you call me?" Gollum asks.

"That was your name once, wasn't it? A long time ago." Frodo says.

Gollum's eyes look down and away from Frodo "My name...My name...Ss...Ss...Sméagol." Gollum says as a smile comes to his face.

All of a sudden, a very loud unfortunately familiar screech echoes through the air immediately waking Sam and the Exceeds up in a panic as they along with Frodo look in the direction the screech came from, Gollum is on the ground however in an even bigger state of panic as he begins whimpering.

"That screech!" Carla says.

"It couldn't be!" Lily says.

"Black Riders!" Sam says as he and the Exceeds scramble to grab their stuff and hide.

"Hide! Hide!" Gollum says when all of a sudden Frodo begins crying out in pain while clutching the...the same area where he had gotten stabbed before by one of the Nazgul. The visions of the very same Nazgul while he had the Ring on, flash through his mind as he gasps out in pain. Gollum hides under a bush as the Exceeds quickly run under the same one with Sam rushing over but then noticing Frodo on the ground "Come on Frodo. Come on!" Sam says as he grabs Frodo and begins dragging him towards the bush.

"Quick! They will see us! They will see us!" Gollum urges as Sam and Frodo both get under the bush and Sam lies down.

"I thought they were dead." Sam says.

"There's no way those things should've survived their fight with Natsu and the others. It's impossible!" Happy says.

"Dead? No, you cannot kill them. No." Gollum says shaking his head.

The Nazgul screeches again as the group look out from under the bush. Instead of on the ground, the Nazgul is now in the air! Sam and the Exceeds look on as now instead of a horse, the Nazgul rides atop a massive winged-creature which lets out a terrifying roar as they fly over the marshlands. The creature flaps its wings a few times as the Nazgul lets out another screech and passes up high over the group's hiding spot "Wraiths! Wraiths on wings!" Gollum says.

"Well, there goes the plan of just flying Frodo and Sam over Mount Doom to drop the Ring when we got close enough." Lily says.

"If those things patrol the skies, there's no way we'll be able to get past them." Carla says.

"Which means we're going to have to come from the ground in some kind of way." Happy says.

As Sam continues to keep his eyes on the Nazgul, Frodo's pupils go up in his eyes as he appeared to be getting drawn into another trance...by the Ring as he grabbed the Ring under his clothes "They are calling for the precious." Gollum says as now the Nazgul and its beast were flying right towards their hiding location.

Sam and the Exceeds seeing this, and listening to what Gollum said look at Frodo and take notice of his state as Sam quickly grabs his hand and yanks it off and away from the Ring "Mr. Frodo! It's alright!" Sam quietly says trying to reassure him "I'm here."

"We're here for you Frodo." Happy says trying to help.

The shadow of the beast goes over them, making them look up to see the creature ascend up into the air, turn around and begin to fly away. Gollum looks back at them with a worried look as Frodo seems to recover from the trance "Hurry Hobbits and Kitties. The Black Gate is very close." Gollum says.

* * *

 _Fangorn Forest…_

Some black liquid is seen on some round, oval leaves on a bush. Gimli appears next to it having of spotted the liquid as he touches it with his fingers and brings it to his mouth, spitting it out not a second later "Orc blood." Gimli says.

"Tch, I could've told you that with my smell. Dumbass." Gajeel says as he walks past the dwarf.

The group have now found themselves very deep in Fangorn, on the trail of the Orc that was chasing after their friends. But so far they had found nothing as they continued looking around. Leaping across a small stream the group run a bit before coming to a stop as Aragorn notices something on the ground and kneels down to examine it "These are strange tracks." Aragorn says.

"The air is so close in here." Gimli says.

Natsu and Gajeel sniff the air "I don't like this forest. Not one bit." Natsu says uneasily before continuing forward.

"Yeah, what Salamander said. There's something wrong with this forest. It's messing with our dragon senses. Can't hear or smell the things we want to." Gajeel says.

"This forest is old...Very old...Full of memory...and anger." Legolas says as he looks out into the forest.

"Yeah well, as long as they don't take that anger out on us. I'll leave them alone." Gray says as he looks around.

All of a sudden a loud groaning sound echoes through the forest, making Gimli raise his axe to defend himself just in case "The trees are speaking to each other." Legolas says as more groans echo through the forest. Legolas and the others all then turn towards Gimli who is looking around on edge "Gimli!" Aragorn quietly calls catching his attention.

"Lower your axe." Aragorn says waving his hand down.

Gimli is confused at first but then agrees to do so without a second thought. "They have feelings my friend. The Elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak." Legolas explains.

"Talking trees...What do trees have to talk about hm? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings." Gimli questions as he walks forward while looking around.

"I don't have any problems with the trees. But if they decide to get in our way, I'll have no problem-"

"DON'T...EVEN...SAY IT." Erza suddenly says getting up in Natsu's face with her teeth clenched and an angered look on her face that made Natsu's eyes widen and sweat immediately start running down his face in terror.

"The fact they didn't like Gimli raising his axe, I definitely think they wouldn't take kindly to you lighting yourself on fire since they would not like that even more so. So don't say or do anything related to your magic while we are in this forest. Got it?" Erza questions as Natsu immediately nods his head.

Legolas turns his head and suddenly becomes very serious _"Aragorn, something's out there."_ Legolas says as he quickly walks past Aragorn attracting his and the others' attention as they follow after him. Legolas stops in his tracks and looks out into the forest as Aragorn gets next to him _"What do you see?"_ Aragorn quietly asks.

"The White Wizard approaches." Legolas says.

Hearing this everyone immediately tenses up "Natsu...I take back what I said. You and Gajeel have permission to give Saruman a taste of your dragon roars…" Erza says as an angered look comes to her face.

Toothy grins come to Natsu and Gajeel's faces "Gihi…" Gajeel chuckles.

"...Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us." Aragorn quietly says to the others.

Aragorn grabs his sword and sheath and slowly pulls the sword out a little, Gimli's grip tightens on the axes in his hands, Legolas slowly pulls his hand back on the end of his arrow, Erza requips into her Heaven's Wheel Armor with two swords in her hands, Gray puts his hands together and readies one of his Ice Make spells, Gajeel continues to grin as he cracks his neck, and Natsu cracks his knuckles.

"We must be quick." Aragorn says.

With a battle cry Aragorn unsheathes his sword as he and the others turn around.

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **Mew Sakura the Cyniclon:** Thanks, I just wish some people would understand that. Each person has THEIR perspective on how a story should go. You have your version, and I have mine. I wish people could respect how the Author wants to write it, not how THEY want it. I mean I understand some people want to give ideas to help out or whatever, and if I like it I'll take it, but if not then I hope they can respect the decision cause it just might not fit with how you want the story to go or you just don't see how it'll work. I know right? Just because Natsu teases her doesn't mean he doesn't care for her? I mean how many times in the series have there been when Natsu will go berserk on someone if they hurt her? That's a good friend/boyfriend right there honestly if my opinion. He doesn't think of her as weak, he always supports her, and he's always there for her when she needs it. Those two were meant for each other in my opinion. Besides don't relationships in real life also involve the couple teasing one another from time to time?

To **Mataras:** How about the next day? XD. Sorry I tried to get this out sooner but, real life stuff came up and everything so. I'm hoping to have the second movie finished by the end of the week before I have to move on to my next stories chapters for a few weeks. Thanks, glad you like how things are going so far.


	9. White Wizard Revealed! Danger in Rohan

Aragorn lets out a battle cry as he completely unsheathes his sword and turns around with the others. A bright light erupts from the darkness and a figure moves towards them through it. Gimli cries out as he throws his axe only for it to be destroyed by the oncoming White Wizard, Legolas fires an arrow but it is deflected away, the blade of Aragorn's sword suddenly starts turning orange and heating up, burning his hand a bit as he is forced to drop it.

" **Circle Sword!"** Erza yells out.

" **Ice Make Lance!"** Gray yells out.

The two send their attacks at the figure but even then with a swift whip of his staff the swords and ice break apart into pieces.

" **Roar of the-"** Both Natsu and Gajeel yell out as they breathe in to cast their attacks, when the figure flicks his staff again and suddenly two medium-sized rocks fly and slam into the back of the two Dragon Slayers' heads knocking them forward to the ground.

The brightness of the light becomes too much as Erza, Gray, and Aragorn cover their faces and take a few steps back with Gimli holding his other axe up defensively and Legolas just standing still with his bow in hand. All of them prepare for the White Wizard's attack...when it doesn't come confusing them a bit.

" **You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits, and two young girls of Fairy Tail."** a deep, booming voice says to them as Natsu and Gajeel push themselves back up and ready themselves to fight the threat.

"Where are they?" Aragorn questions.

" **They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"**

"Depends on if that "someone" hurt them or not you bastard!" Natsu angrily states.

"Who are you?" Aragorn asks, but when the figure does not reply "Show yourself!" he demands.

The figure steps out of the light and reveals himself to be…Gandalf?!

Natsu and the other Fairy Tail wizards gasp in complete shock at what they see as their eyes, and the eyes of the others widen "It cannot be…" Aragorn says in shock.

"We...We attacked you cause...My apologies!" Erza quickly says bowing forward as she requips into her normal armor.

"Forgive me." Legolas says as he then kneels down while Gimli lowers his axe "I mistook you for Saruman." Legolas says. Sure enough Gandalf was now all, well white instead of grey with his hair, beard, staff, and clothing all bright white.

"Y-Yeah...what he said." Gray says as bows forward as well to show respect to him while Gimli bows with his head.

"I am Saruman...Or rather Saruman as he should have been." Gandalf says.

"B-But how?" Natsu asks.

"You fell." Aragorn says.

"How'd you survive? And why are you all like...this?" Gajeel asks wondering too about his new look.

Gandalf steps off the flat rock he's on, the light dying down as he slowly approaches the group who all stand back up/straighten themselves "Through fire...and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside...Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time...Stars wheeled overhead and everyday was as long as a life-age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back...until my task is done." Gandalf finishes as he now stands in front of Aragorn.

"Gandalf…" Aragorn says taking step towards him, still in disbelief at who he was seeing.

"Gandalf? Yes...That was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name." Gandalf says.

"Gandalf." Gimli happily says with a joyous look on his face.

"Gihi." Gajeel chuckles.

"I am Gandalf the White." Gandalf says as Legolas and the others all smile.

"And I come back to you now...at the turn of the tide." Gandalf says.

"It's nice to have you back, old man." Natsu says.

Gandalf turns and then walks over to Natsu and Gajeel with a smile on his face "Yes, indeed it is nice to be back." Gandalf says. Before suddenly whacking both Natsu and Gajeel on their heads with his staff making them cry out in pain and hold their foreheads.

"What the hell?!" Gajeel yells.

"What was that for?!" Natsu questions.

"For still being the incompetent fools you are even after how long I've been dead? Attempting to use your Roar attacks in here? Are you trying to destroy the beauty of this forest!?" Gandalf says before turning and walking away as Aragorn and the others begin to follow.

"Couldn't he of come back without the whole whacking habit of his?" Gajeel questions annoyed.

"Aye…" Natsu says in agreement.

 _Sometime later…_

Gandalf, who is now wearing a grey cloak over his white robes, and the others walk hastily through the forest "One stage of your journey is over. Another begins. We must travel to Edoras with all speed." Gandalf says.

"Edoras? That is no short distance!" Gimli says surprised by this.

"We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the king." Aragorn informs Gandalf as he stops.

"Yes, and it will not be easily cured." Gandalf says looking at Aragorn.

"Then we have run all this way for nothing? Are we to leave those poor Hobbits here in this horrid, dark, dank tree-infested-?" Gimli's question is interrupted by the loud groaning sounds of the trees that echo throughout the forest making him look around worried as the others continue on.

"Ah, I mean...charming...quite charming forest." Gimli quickly readjusts.

"Yeah, and what about Wendy and Lucy? We just going to leave them here?" Natsu asks as he runs up to Gandalf's side and looks at him while continuing to walk.

Gandalf stops in his tracks "It was more than mere chance that brought Merry, Pippin, Wendy, and Lucy to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years. The coming of Merry, Pippin, Wendy, and Lucy will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains." Gandalf says.

"In one thing you have not changed, dear friend." Aragorn says making Gandalf hum in wonder of what he meant by that as he leans towards him "You still speak riddles." Aragorn whispers making Gandalf chuckle lightly.

Gandalf pulls away from Aragorn "A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Elder Days. The Ents are going to wake up...and find that they are strong." Gandalf says.

"Strong?! Oh that's good." Gimli says looking around still worried.

"So stop your fretting Master Dwarf, and you to Natsu. Merry, Pippin, Wendy, and Lucy are quite safe." Gandalf says as he turns and continues to walk with the Aragorn following closely behind him. "In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be Gimli." Gandalf calls back.

Gimli looks down a bit at the ground "This new Gandalf's more grumpy than the old one." Gimli says to himself.

Natsu clenches his teeth and looks at the ground as Legolas, Gray, and Gajeel, continue walking after the others "Natsu." Erza suddenly says from behind him as she puts a hand on his shoulder catching his attention as he turns his head at her.

"None of us may like it. But if what Gandalf said is true that Lucy, Wendy, and the others are here for a reason which requires them to stay. Then it must be something of great importance and we must listen to what he says. He's never led us astray before and he's not going to start now." Erza says.

"I know...it's just that…" Natsu says but finds himself at a loss for words.

"Don't worry. We'll see them again soon. At least we know they are alive, well, and safe from harm's reach. That's what matters now." Erza says before removing her hand and continuing after the others.

Natsu narrowed his eyes still not liking it, that he would have to wait longer to see Lucy, and Wendy again. He just hoped they would stay safe.

 _Outside the forest…_

Gandalf whistles into the air, the whistle seems to echo out for miles as behind him the others wait with their horses beside them. Suddenly the distant sound of a horse neighing rings out into the air as off to the left of them a clean shiny white horse gallops up a hill and towards them over the plains. Gandalf smiles upon seeing the horse as Aragorn, and Legolas seem to be drawn in awe to it "That is one of the Mearas...unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas says.

"The mearas?" Erza asks Aragorn.

"A breed of wild horses in the northern parts of Middle-Earth. They surpass normal horses in intelligence, speed, and strength." Aragorn explains.

"Looks like just a normal horse to me." Gray says not really seeing anything impressive about it.

"Do not be so quick to judge just by appearances Gray." Aragorn says.

The horse slows down and walks up to Gandalf "Shadowfax. He is the lord of all horses...and has been my friend through many dangers." Gandalf says as he approaches the horse and pets it on the side of the head.

"Lord of all horses? Sheesh, that's a title for a horse there." Gajeel says a bit impressed.

Time passes by as the group is seen riding their horses through the open plains of Rohan, their next stop, Edoras.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Back in Fangorn Forest…_

" _O rowen mine. I saw you shine. Upon a summer's day. Upon your head. How golden-red. The crown you bore aloft"_ Treebeard "sung" as he walked through the forest while carrying Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin on him as the two Hobbits sat on some branches on his right side, Wendy sitting just behind his head as she crossed her arms and laid on top of him, and Lucy sitting on his left shoulder.

Merry yawned after hearing him finish the verse "Such a beautiful verse." Treebeard says.

"It is very much Mr. Treebeard." Wendy says with a drowsy look in her eyes.

"Is it much further?" Merry asks.

"Bru-ra-hroom. Don't be hasty. You might call it far, perhaps. My home lies deep in the forest, near the roots of the mountain...I told Gandalf I would keep you safe. And safe is where I'll keep you. I believe you will enjoy this next one too. It's one of my own compositions. Right, ahem." Treebeard says as he clears his throat to continue singing, Pippin seemed to be having some difficulty trying not to fall asleep as he closed his eyes and quickly reopened them. Lucy also appeared to be tired as well as she let out a yawn while stretching her arms upwards.

" _Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves. And the dreams of trees unfold. When woodland halls are green and cool. And the wind is in the West. Come back to me. Come back to me~. And say my land is best."_ Treebeard finishes, suddenly peering to his right and noticing the two Hobbits sleeping as he looked to his left and saw Lucy fast asleep as well. On his head Wendy was also passed out as he could hear her slowly breathing in and out.

 _Nighttime…_

"Sleep, little Shirelings. Heed no nightly noise. Sleep till morning light." Treebeard says as he carefully puts the two Hobbits on the ground who continue sleeping away. Treebeard walks a little bit away from them before reaching up and carefully grabbing Lucy and Wendy as he then slowly places them on the ground as well "And you to, little humans. Heed no nightly noise, and sleep till morning light." Treebeard says as the two girls just like the Hobbits sleep peacefully, undisturbed by the move.

"I have business in the forest. There are many to call. Many that must come." Treebeard says as he then turns around "The Shadow lies on Fangorn." he then begins walking "The withering of all woods is drawing near."

 _Somewhere in the plains of Rohan…_

While most of the group is fast asleep, Gandalf stands some few feet away looking over into the distance at Mordor as its orange lights brighten up the dark skies of the night for miles. Aragorn seems to be awake as well as he gets up and walks over to his side "The veiling shadow that glowers in the east takes a shape. Sauron will suffer no rival. From the summit of Barad-dur, his Eye watches ceaselessly. But he is not so mighty yet that he is above fear. Doubt ever gnaws at him. The rumors have reached him. The heir of Numenor still lives." Gandalf says as he looks at Aragorn who looks back.

"And the other rumor?" Aragorn asks.

Gandalf smirks "And that some rather, powerful strangers not from this world, have come to our aid in this dark time. Sauron fears you Aragorn, he fears what you may become. And he fears our friends from Fairy Tail because of their mysterious powers that they bring to this fight the likes he has never seen before. But it is because of these that he'll strike hard and fast at the world of Men. He will use his puppet Saruman to destroy Rohan. War is coming. Rohan must defend itself, and therein lies our first challenge for Rohan is weak and ready to fall. The king's mind is enslaved, it's an old device of Saruman's. His hold over King Theoden is now very strong. Sauron and Saruman are tightening the noose. But for all their cunning...we have one advantage. The Ring remains hidden. And that we should seek to destroy it has not yet entered their darkest dreams. And so the weapon of the enemy is moving towards Mordor, in the hands of a Hobbit. Each day brings it closer to the fires of Mount Doom...We must trust now in Frodo. Everything depends upon speed, and the secrecy of his quest. Do not regret your decision to leave him. Frodo must finish this task alone." Gandalf finishes as he looks back forward.

"He's not alone." Aragorn says shaking his head a bit catching Gandalf's attention "Sam went with him." Aragorn says.

"Did he? Did he indeed? Good. Yes, very good." Gandalf says.

"Not just Sam." a voice behind the two suddenly speaks out as they turn to see Natsu standing behind them with his hands behind his head "Happy, Carla, and Lily also went with them. And with those three around they'll get this Ring destroyed safely in no time!" Natsu says with a grin.

 _Meanwhile…_

"Steady, careful now you're almost up here." Lily says as he leans over the edge of a cliff looking down as Happy slowly and carefully carries Frodo, and Carla carries Sam.

"Okay good stop." Lily says as the two Hobbits grab onto the edge of the cliff and the Exceeds fly low over them and land on the cliff beside Lily.

"The Black Gate of Mordor…" Gollum says behind them as the Hobbits pull themselves up and the Exceeds turn around, and stare upon the massive gate that stands as the only entrance into the land of Mordor. True enough to its name, the massive gate before them was entirely black, set in between the two high mountain walls that surrounded Mordor the gate appeared to be at least if not more 60 feet high, and 250 feet long with two tall towers protruding out from the lower parts of the mountains at the ends connected by more walkways coming out from the mountain.

"Oh save us." Sam says in slight fear seeing this as Gollum covered his face and cringed in fear. Sam, Frodo, and the Exceeds stayed low to the ground and crawled forward to get an even better look at the massive structure before them.

"My old Gaffer would have a thing or two to say if he could see us now." Sam says.

"Is this really the way we should've gone? Straight to their front door?" Lily questions just looking at the construct before them.

"Master says to show him the way into Mordor. So good Smeagol does, master says so." Gollum says crawling up behind them.

"I did." Frodo says still in shock and fear at what laid before them.

From their position the group could see hundreds of Orcs armed with bows and arrows, and pikes on top of the wall on guard duty.

"This really was a bad mistake. There's too many of them for Lily to fight by himself and I'm not seeing any way to sneak past them with the way these walls and mountains are." Carla says.

"That's it then. We can't get past that." Sam says as he looks back at Frodo.

"Hey guys look." Happy says catching everyone's attention as they look over the rocks.

Down below was a large column of what appeared to be armored men, soldiers, one of them yelling out orders perhaps in an entirely different language for anyone in the group to understand. Gollum turns away and starts to cringe again in terror "Who are those guys supposed to be?" Lily questions as a horn blares from atop the wall.

"They're humans, and yet the Orcs aren't going on alert or anything. Are these people...allied with Sauron?" Carla wonders.

"But why would there be humans allied with Sauron? Isn't he an enemy to elves, men, and dwarves alike?" Happy asks.

"It appears to not be the case." Lily says.

Just then the gate begins to open up slowly "Look! The gate. It's opening!" Sam says.

As Frodo and the Exceeds look at the opening gate, Sam climbs further out onto a nearby rock that's sticking out over the edge and looks down "I can see a way down." Sam says.

"Sam! Don't that rock is-"

"Sam no!" Frodo yells cutting Carla off as unfortunately the rock gives away and goes tumbling down the side, taking Sam with it.

"Sam!" Happy yells out.

"We need to get to him quickly! Happy!" Lily says as he, Happy, and Frodo get up and run after him.

"Master!" Gollum quietly cries out in fear as he can only watch them go down.

"Lily! Happy!" Carla says with worry.

Unfortunately because of how close they were to the enemy the Exceeds could not risk taking flight and so run down the side of the rocky hill with Frodo, the three slide behind a rock for some cover as down below two of the armored soldiers stop and break away from the column. Taking notice of some rocks sliding down the hill and dust kicking up into the air as if someone or something fell down it. Frodo and the Exceeds get out from behind the rock and continue running/sliding down the hill to another rock, as the two soldiers begin to walk towards the area to investigate with their weapons at the ready. Quickly the three rush out from the rock and slide/run over to Sam who has gotten half of his body buried under the dirt and small rocks as Frodo grabs his left arm and the Exceeds his right and attempt to pull him out, to no avail.

"He's too deep, we need to dig." Lily says as quickly they begin doing so. The armored soldiers however get closer and closer as they look around for signs of whoever caused the rocks to slide, the three try once again but Sam is still too far beneath the rocks.

Frodo looks forward and sees the soldiers much closer now "Stay close to us and remain still." Frodo quietly says to Happy and Lily as he throws his elven cloak over him, Sam, and the Exceeds.

The soldiers approach and stop in their tracks. From beneath the cloak Happy slowly lifts it up a bit for a slit to peek out, and sees that the armored soldiers' boots are practically right there in front of them. For the soldiers, all they see in front of them are some rocks, above the hill nothing else. After a few very tense seconds pass by, the four hoping that they don't decide to investigate the rocks themselves, the two soldiers turn and begin walking back to their column. A few more seconds pass by as then Frodo throws the cloak off and the three get back to digging, eventually finally pulling Sam out as Frodo rushes up to a nearby rock and peeks out to look at the soldiers who are walking in through the cracked open gate.

Sam and the two Exceeds join beside him "I do not ask you come with me, Sam, Happy, Lily." Frodo says as he prepares to make a break for the gate and hopefully not get spotted.

"I know Mr. Frodo...I doubt even these Elvish cloaks will hide us in there." Sam says.

"That's if we can even get to the gate without being spotted. A long distance of open ground between here and there." Lily says.

"What other choice do we have? We'll just have to hope we get lucky." Happy says.

The four ready themselves to make a mad dash towards the opened gate "Now!" Frodo says when suddenly.

"No!" Gollum yells out as he pulls back on Frodo and Sam with Carla flying straight down into Happy and Lily knocking both of them down as well.

"No! No master! They catch you! They catch you!" Gollum warns, Frodo tries to make a dash again but is pulled back by Gollum "Don't take it to him." Gollum pleads.

"Are you two insane!? I can't believe you were actually going to go through with that plan! You would've been spotted the minute you got out of cover!" Carla angrily says in a panic to Happy and Lily who look up at her.

"He wants the precious. Always he is looking for it. And the precious is wanting to go back to him." Gollum says as he walks a few feet forward and peeks out around the rock.

"But we mustn't let him have it." Gollum says as the horn blares again and the gate begins to slowly close.

"But how are we supposed to get in then?" Lily asks.

"That's right. If we can't fly in, and this is the only way, how are we supposed to get into Mordor?" Happy asks.

Carla crosses her arms as she turns and looks at Gollum, the others following her gaze "As it turns out. There's another way into Mordor." Carla says.

"What?" Lily says in shock hearing this as is Happy as he screams "Eh?!"

 _Flashback…_

"Lily! Happy!" Carla says with worry. She looks at Gollum to her right angrily and sprouting her wings, shoulder rams into his side knocking him over onto his back as he cries out. Carla hovers over Gollum with an angered expression on her face "You better hope they get out of this alive or you're going to pay for it!" Carla threatens, scared for her friends lives.

Gollum covers himself with his arms over his face "I'm wishing Master gets away too! I would not have brought him here otherwise and would've taken him to the secret passage!" Gollum says.

Hearing this Carla's eyes widen in shock "Secret passage? Secret passage?! As in there's a secret passage into Mordor and you didn't tell us?! You're telling me you wasted our time, and put my friend's lives in danger when we could've been heading towards a secret passage all this time!" Carla angrily questions Gollum.

"M-Master did not ask. Master said to lead him to the way into Mordor. This is the way in, the main one. But there is another. A secret one." Gollum says.

Carla clenches her teeth in anger, she did not trust this Gollum one bit and he was really testing her patience. The only reason he was even with them still was because he was the only one who knew a way into Mordor...unfortunately it seemed he was either really stupid...or playing stupid, and had now neglected to mention that there was a secret, probably even more safer, and possibly one they could actually sneak through, secret passage.

"Please do not hurt me kitty. Please do not hurt me." Gollum pleads before he stops and slowly lowers his arms "Master...we need to see if master is okay!" Gollum says making Carla realize that too as she looked over the edge and saw the four boys...who looked like they were about ready to make a dash for the gate.

"Happy! Lily! Frodo! Sam! Wait!" Carla quietly calls out as Gollum rushes past her and she launches herself up and then straight down.

 _Present Time…_

"Yes. More secret, a dark way." Gollum says.

Sam pulls on his shoulder to make him face him "Why haven't you spoken of this before?!" Sam questions angrily.

"It is as I told the female kitty. Because master did not ask." Gollum replies.

Sam pushes him back and looks at Frodo who looks back at him "He's up to something!" Sam says.

"Agreed!" Carla says.

"So you are saying there's another way into Mordor?" Frodo asks looking at Gollum.

Gollum shakes his head with a pleading look in his eyes "Yes. There's a path, and some stairs. And then...a tunnel." Gollum finishes saying clinging onto Frodo's shoulder as Frodo looks back to see the gate close completely.

Frodo falls back a little off the rock and leans against it as Sam and the Exceeds look at him, waiting to see what he wants to do. "He's led us this far guys." Frodo says.

Lily crosses his arms, narrows his eyes a bit and grunts disapprovingly as Happy and Carla also look at him with serious faces "Mr. Frodo no." Sam says shaking his head.

"He's been true to his word." Frodo says defending Gollum making him look up at him.

"No…" Sam says again.

Frodo looks back at Gollum "Lead the way Smeagol." Frodo says.

Gollum begins shaking his head "Good Smeagol always helps." Gollum says as he turns and starts to hop away. Sam and the Exceeds look at each other, unsure of what to do now but to follow Frodo...and Smeagol once again unfortunately as Frodo lowers his eyes to the ground.

* * *

 _Back in Fangorn Forest…_

" _Hello?"_

Lucy's eyes open upon hearing Merry's voice, the rays of the sun shine through the trees blinding Lucy for a quick second before they readjust to the light. She sits up and looks around to find that her, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin are by themselves in a small, open area surrounded by trees with Treebeard nowhere in sight. Pippin sits next to a small waterfall with a stone bowl in his hands drinking the water, Merry seems to be looking around trying to find out where they are and where Treebeard is, and looking next to her she sees Wendy still asleep, a peaceful look on her face. Lucy smiles seeing the peaceful look on Wendy's face, a reminder that they were now out of danger. All that remained now was to wait for Gandalf to come back with Natsu and the others and they would all be reunited again, though she still questioned in her mind why Gandalf left them behind instead of taking them with him, she knew Gandalf must've had a reason and so chose to follow it.

"Treebeard?" Merry calls out but to no response.

"Hey, Wendy, time to get up." Lucy says, deciding to wake Wendy up since Treebeard had told them the forest can be a bit dangerous sometimes, especially if Treebeard himself wasn't with them.

"Where has he gone?" Merry asks himself as Pippin just lays back against the rocks next to the small waterfall.

Wendy sits up and rubs her eyes groaning from the sudden awakening "Lucy-san?" Wendy asks.

"Yeah, don't worry Wendy I'm right here. Though, it seems Treebeard must've gone for a walk or something but I'm sure he'll be back for us." Lucy says looking around.

"I had the loveliest dream last night. There was this large barrel, full of pipe-weed. And we smoked all of it. And then…" as Pippin described his dream to Merry, hearing what he was saying made him happy a bit as he grinned "...you were sick." Pippin finishes, and like that the grin was gone replaced with a slightly annoyed look.

Hearing this both Lucy and Wendy couldn't help but look at each other and giggle quietly. "I'd give anything for a whiff of Old Toby." Pippin says as he lowers himself against the rocks to relax.

Just then the four hear the trees groan as it echoes through the forest "Did you hear that?" Merry asks walking towards Pippin's direction but away from him to the edge of the area as he looks out into the forest with an awed look. Pippin however seems to ignore it and fill his water bowl up again as Lucy and Wendy pick themselves off the ground, just as more groans echo out.

"There it is again." Merry says.

"We heard it the first time. The trees in here are supposed to be alive right? Though, different from Treebeard if I remember correctly." Lucy says with her hands to her hips.

"Something's not right here. Not right at all." Merry says as Pippin grabs a big stone bucket in his left arm and sits up. As he stretches a groaning noise like the ones the trees make booms out from his body.

Hearing this Merry, Lucy, and Wendy slowly turn their heads towards him with surprised looks on their faces "Uh~ what?" Lucy asks.

"You just said something...Treeish." Merry says.

"No I didn't. I was just stretching." Pippin says as he stretches again, and again, both times treeish groans escape from his body

"There it is! You just did it again!" Wendy says in shock pointing at him...though something else strange happens that Merry notices.

As Merry begins to circle around Pippin he seems to be closely...examining something about him as Lucy says "H-How are you doing that?"

Merry walks to Pippin's back and notices "You're taller." Merry says.

Pippin looks back and forth between Lucy and Wendy, and Merry "Who?" Pippin asks looking at Merry.

"You!" Merry says.

"Then what?" Pippin asks.

"Than me! Don't you two see it as well?" Merry says in disbelief as he asks Lucy and Wendy if they notice it too.

Lucy and Wendy squint their eyes and lean forward a bit trying to see if he really is taller than before, the two lean back and look at each other nodding their heads before looking at Merry.

"Sorry." Lucy says as she and Wendy lift their shoulders and hands up in a shrug and close their eyes embarrassed.

"Haven't really been paying attention to that." Wendy says.

Merry shakes his head "I've always been taller than you." Pippin says to Merry.

Merry puts his hands to his hips "Pippin, everyone knows I'm the tall one. You're the short one." Merry says.

"Please, Merry. You're what? Three-foot-six? At the most?" Pippin asks making Merry shrug a bit with a questioning look on his face.

"Whereas me, I'm pushing 3'7"." Pippin says as he stretches again, this time growing noticeable for sure as even Lucy and Wendy's eyes widen in disbelief at what they see as does Merry's.

"3'8"!" Pippin excitedly says before looking at the bowl of water in his hand and drinking from it again.

"Okay, that time I noticed it!" Lucy says getting a bit freaked out now on how he was not only speaking Treeish, but growing taller too.

"I'm scared Lucy-san! What's happening to Pippin!?" Wendy cries out waving her arms up and down.

"Three-foot-eight?" Merry questions.

Pippin stops drinking and looks at Merry as then a light bulb...or candle? Goes off in his head "You did something." Merry says.

Pippin looks away, trying to act innocently as he looks back at Merry and shrugs. Slowly he begins to place the stone bowl back next to the waterfall. However Merry notices this. Within a second Merry grabs the giant stone bucket in Pippin's arm to drink from it "Merry don't! Don't drink it!" Pippin warns him in panic, but Merry drinks some anyways and looks back at Pippin with a joyous look on his face.

"Merry!" Pippin calls out as he begins to chase after him to get the bucket away.

Lucy looks on at the two "Wait...so…" Lucy looks back at the waterfall where there are a few more stone bowls lying around it.

"It's the water! There's something in the water!" Lucy says in shock and awe as Wendy looks at the waterfall as well.

Lucy looks back at Merry and Pippin as Pippin continues to chase after Merry "Amazing. It's just like what Merry said, there's something in the water that can make the trees grow and talk. But for normal people it not only makes them grow tall, but speak treeish as well." Lucy says with an excited look on her face now at learning such a thing. When it then dawns upon her "Hm~, but then again...That's just instantly. There's no telling if there are any side effects that take longer to happen." Lucy says.

"Wendy, maybe use your magic to-" Lucy begins to say while turning around to tell Wendy to use her magic to stop the boys so they can get the water and bucket away...when she notices Wendy no longer behind her.

"Eh? Wendy?" Lucy asks confused. When she then looks over at the waterfall and comes into eye contact with Wendy, who is filling up one of the stone bowls in her hands. The two just stare at each other in silence as Merry and Pippin continue to go at it in the background "No, Treebeard said that you shouldn't have any!"

"I want some!"

"It could well be dangerous!"

Lucy blinks her eyes a few times as Wendy just continues looking, not even noticing the bowl was already filled up, as then her face turns completely red and she cringes in embarrassment. "Wendy...what are you doing?" Lucy calmly asks her putting a smile on her face and closing her eyes.

Wendy looks back and forth between the water bowl and Lucy before landing them back on Lucy "Um~...nothing?" Wendy says.

"Wendy...you know that could potentially be dangerous to us right? We just don't know it yet?" Lucy asks.

"M-Maybe…" Wendy says albeit nervously as she looks away from Lucy.

"Then, maybe we shouldn't drink it. Just to be safe right?" Lucy asks.

"R-Right…" Wendy agrees.

"So...how about you pour the water back into the waterfall, and leave it alone?" Lucy asks.

Wendy lets out a sigh of defeat and closes her eyes "Alright Lucy-san." she says as she pours the water back in and is about to set the bowl down when she freezes in place.

Lucy seeing this raises her right eyebrow "Wendy?" Lucy asks.

Wendy is completely frozen in place "I'M SORRY LUCY-SAN I NEED TO DO THIS!" Wendy suddenly cries out in a desperate tone before quickly filling the bowl right back up.

"EH~!?" Lucy cries out in shock seeing this.

"WENDY! DON'T!" Lucy yells as she quickly runs after Wendy who is now attempting to run away herself, but because she is trying to be careful not to spill the water Lucy is able to easily catch up to her as she wraps her arms around her stomach and lifts her up into the air. Wendy continues to cry out while running her legs back and forth in the air with her eyes closed "No! No! No! No! No!"

"Wendy what are you doing?!" Lucy cries out.

"Please Lucy-san just let me drink just one bowl! One bowl and that's it!" Wendy pleads while holding the bowl out away from Lucy.

"No! That stuff could be dangerous we can't risk it even though we shouldn't need it in the first place!" Lucy yells back.

"You don't understand Lucy-san I need this! Please just let me have at least a sip!" Wendy cries out pleading more.

"Why do you need it?! You're perfectly fine the way you are just grow naturally!" Lucy yells.

"I don't wanna grow naturally I don't wanna be the shortest one anymore! I want to grow to be the height of everyone else! And maybe this water could finally fix my problem!" Wendy cries out.

"Problem?! What problem?!" Lucy asks.

"My flat chest! I don't want to have one anymore I want them to be like you and Erza-san's!" Wendy cries out.

"EH~! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN THINKING THAT?!" Lucy cries out in complete shock just hearing this.

As the two girls continued their struggle, "Give it back. Merry!" the water spills out from the bucket a bit as Merry and Pippin run over some big tree roots. Merry trips and falls backwards causing him to lose the bucket as all of a sudden the tree groans behind them catching their attention, suddenly the roots begin closing in around them trapping their limbs first.

"What's happening?!" Pippin cries out.

Merry cries out next "It's got my leg!"

"Merry!" Pippin yells as the two attempt to break free but now find themselves getting sucked in beneath its roots.

"Lucy! Wendy!" Merry yells out catching the two's attention as they stop and look over, and see what's happening to them making their eyes widen in shock.

"Merry!"

"Pippin-san!" the two yell at the same time as Lucy drops Wendy and Wendy drops the bowl of water and rush over to them. The two stay a safe distance away wondering what to do as Merry and Pippin continue to get sucked into the ground beneath the tree roots "Guys! What'd you do?!" Lucy yells out in panic.

"We don't know! Help us!" Merry yells.

"Wendy! Use your magic!" Pippin cries out.

"No that might just might anger the tree more and any of its friends that are around! We have to find Treebeard!" Lucy says.

"Hurry!" Merry yells as large piles of leaves begin to fall and pile down on top of the Hobbits.

"Come on Wendy we have to hurry!" Lucy says as Wendy nods her head in agreement and the two turn and start running.

"Treebeard!" Lucy yells.

"Mr. Treebeard!" Wendy yells.

"Treebeard!"

"Mr. Treebeard!"

The two do not get far however until they run right into the tall walking Ent himself making them stop in their tracks "What is all this racket I am hearing? I could hear you from across the forest?" Treebeard asks.

"Treebeard! There's a...a tree and its roots, Merry and Pippin are trapped beneath it!" Lucy quickly tries to explain.

"What?" Treebeard says as he begins to walk with haste, Lucy and Wendy stepping aside as they run after him.

Treebeard seems to know what tree it is the girls are talking about as he walks right up to it "Away with you. You should not be waking. Eat earth. Dig deep. Drink water. Go to sleep." Treebeard says as the tree seems to respond, slowly moving its roots away and freeing Pippin and Merry who quickly jump out from beneath the piles of leaves crying out in a panic to get away from it.

"Away with you." Treebeard finishes as the Hobbits run up to Treebeard.

"You two okay?" Lucy asks as she and Wendy run up to them.

"It's a good thing Mr. Treebeard was coming right back when it happened." Wendy says.

"Come," the four hear Treebeard say as they look up at him "The forest is waking up. It isn't safe." Treebeard finishes as he picks up the two Hobbits and helps them climb onto his back and then follows by picking the girls up and placing them on the other side of his back and turns to walk away.

"The trees have grown wild and dangerous. Anger festers in their hearts. Black are their thoughts. Strong is their hate. They will harm you if they can. There are too few of us now. Too few of us Ents left to manage them." Treebeard explains as he carefully walks through the forest.

"Why are there so few of you when you have lived so long? Are there Ent children?" Pippin asks.

"Bru-ra-hroom. There have been no Entings for a terrible long count of years." Treebeard says with a saddened look on his face.

"Why is that?" Merry asks.

"We lost the Entwives." Treebeard answers.

"Oh my...how terrible." Lucy says covering her mouth in shock and sadness hearing this.

"How did they die?" Pippin asks.

"Die? No. We lost them. And now we cannot find them." Treebeard says confusing Merry and the others a bit.

"I don't suppose you've seen Entwives in the Shire?" Treebeard asks.

Merry and Pippin find themselves at a loss for words for the question since they had no idea what Entwives even looked like "Can't say that I have. You, Pip?" Merry asks. Pippin shakes his head.

"Hm~, and what about you young humans, perhaps you have seen Entwives where you come from?" Treebeard now asks Lucy and Wendy.

Lucy and Wendy look at each other since, not only did they not know what Entwives also looked like, but they did not know if there was even a way for them to have somehow gotten to Earthland since...well it was a whole other world and stuff. "I don't think so." Lucy replies _"Not unless they know how to travel to a whole other world or something."_ Lucy says in her mind.

"Mr. Treebeard, what do Entwives look like?" Wendy asks.

"...I don't remember now." Treebeard says.

Lucy closes her eyes and turns away with a deadpanned look _"Well that probably doesn't help a whole lot now."_ Lucy says in her mind.

* * *

 _Rohan…_

Team Natsu, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf ride their horses over a short hill, as then their destination appears before them, Edoras. The capital city of Rohan which...wasn't very much one would expect for the capital of a whole land; as it was a rather small city built up and around a small hill with semi-high wooden walls, and towers surrounding it.

The group comes to a stop to overlook the place "Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There dwells Theoden, King of Rohan...whose mind is overthrown." Gandalf says.

"This is the capital of Rohan? Kind of...small when you compare it to the capital of Fiore." Gray says trying to choose his words carefully so he doesn't get whacked in the head by Gandalf for being impolite.

"Looks like a dump compared to Crocus." Natsu says...and gets whacked in the back of the head by both Gandalf's staff and Erza's fist "Ow!" he cries out.

"Oh, and by the way Erza...if I were you I would requip out of your armor, for now at least until the situation calls for it. You may have heard but, in our world the thought of a female warrior is, well out of the question. You may be able to prove otherwise but until then, well let's just keep it as a surprise shall we?" Gandalf asks.

"Of course Gandalf." Erza says as she requips herself into her normal out of armor clothing, a white buttoned up blouse with no sleeves, a blue ribbon around beneath the collar, blue skirt still, and her normal boots.

With that out of the way the group continue towards the capital of Rohan, not taking that long until they arrive and begin to slowly approach the gate into the city. Along the way however, Aragorn, and Natsu in the back of the group take notice of a flag that mysteriously falls in out of nowhere and lands on the ground, the same green flag with a white horse on it that represents Rohan. Natsu and Aragorn look at each other, both of them just getting a bad vibe off of that for some reason, like it was some kind of sign of how bad of a state Rohan was in.

A few minutes later and the group is now heading up the hill towards the top where the Golden Hall lies, along the way however they do not fail in getting noticed by both the remaining soldiers and the normal civilians alike, though all they are greeted with is silence and looks.

"You'll find more cheer in a graveyard." Gimli says.

"Sheesh, what's wrong with these people someone die or something?" Gajeel quietly says.

"Getting a creepy vibe just by having all these people looking at us all silently and shit." Gray says.

Soon they reach the top and dismount their horses, walking up the flight of stairs and arriving at the entrance to the Golden Hall as the two doors open inward and a few Rohirrim walk out, the one in the lead without a helmet as he had reddish brown medium-length hair flowing down the back of his head and a full beard. The soldiers make the group stop "I cannot allow you before Theoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame...By order of...Grima Wormtongue." the man says, the last part sounding a bit like he didn't like who ordered it.

Gandalf nods his head understanding the soldier as he looks at Aragorn on his right, and Legolas, and Gimli to his left and nods his head. Some Rohirrim step up to confiscate the group's weapons as Legolas hands his bow and quiver of arrows to the soldier in front of him, followed by taking out and twirling his elven daggers around before handing them off to the soldier. Gimli lifts his axe and looks at it, the look in his eyes saying he didn't like parting with his weapon but does so reluctantly handing it off to the soldier in front of him. Aragorn hands his bow and quiver of arrows off to the soldier in front of him, followed by unbuckling his sword sheath and handing it to the soldier, and then his dagger. A group of Rohirrim stand before the Fairy Tail wizards, more specifically just Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel seemingly ignoring Erza, waiting for them to hand their weapons over.

"Does it look like we have weapons on us?" Gray says as he, Natsu, and Gajeel turn their pockets inside out and show the soldiers that they have no weapons on them anywhere which the soldiers seem to accept and back away.

With their weapons handed over Gandalf just waits for the soldiers to lead them into the hall now, but they don't "Your staff." the lead soldier says.

"Hm? Oh...You would not part an old man from his walking stick." Gandalf says acting all innocent. Which seems to work as the lead soldier just stares at him looking like he didn't believe it, but then turns and begins to lead them into the building as the other soldiers stand aside to let the group pass through. As they enter the building the lead soldier steps aside and begins to walk to another soldier up ahead to the right to allow them to see the King; ahead of them was...apparently that King who looked very, very decrepit, and old with a very, very pale face and silver/grayish long hair and beard grown out wildly all over his face. Beside him was another man, one that was dark-haired, emaciated and eyebrowless, wearing black robes with dark fur, as well as being extremely pale and gaunt.

"My lord, Gandalf the Grey is coming." the man known as Grima Wormtongue, chief advisor to King Theoden whispers into his ear. However, there was more to him that many did not know, such as the fact he was an agent and spy for Saruman and had been the one to help Saruman take control of the King to make him the weakened self he is now.

The doors behind the group are closed and lock shut, alerting Aragorn, Natsu, and the others who didn't like it one bit as Gandalf continued to focus and walk forward. Off to their right however, was a gathering of low-level thugs by the look of it who eyed the group.

"Seems we got some hired thugs to our right." Gajeel says carefully eyeing them out of the corner of his eyes.

"Be ready." Erza says quietly.

"He's a herald of woe." Grima whispers into Theoden's ear.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late...Theoden King." Gandalf says his voice echoing out in the silent room.

"He's not welcome." Grima says.

The king raises his head a bit, his eyes for the most part closed in a weakened state "Why...should I welcome you...Gandalf Stormcrow?" Theoden asks as he looks at Grima.

"A just question, my liege." Grima says as he stands up and begins to approach Gandalf "Late is the hour...in which this conjurer chooses to appear." Aragorn looks off to his right to spot the group of thugs still closely following them.

"Lathspell I name him. Ill news is an ill guest." Grima says stopping in front of Gandalf.

"Be silent. Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm." Gandalf says as he then brandishes his staff before Grima, his eyes widening in shock at what he was seeing as he begins backing up slowly.

"His staff...I told you to take the wizard's staff!" Grima states towards the Rohirrim as then like that the thugs run past the two helmetless soldiers towards the group. Quickly Aragorn and the others move in and intercept the thugs before they can get to Gandalf and begin engaging them with their fists while Gandalf continues to walk forward completely calm. The other Rohirrim goes for his sword but the one from before puts his hand on his to stop him.

As Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli throws punches and kicks...well...for the Fairy Tail wizards. A thug throws his fist at Gray who catches it with ease and then holds it there as the thug is taken back by how strong the young boy actually is "Oh...bad mistake." Gray says with a grin as suddenly cold air begins to surround his hand, and then in a flashing instant the thug is completely frozen in a block of ice. Seeing this causes gasps and wide eyes in the room at what had just happened, wondering if that young man before them, had really just somehow froze that man solid.

Gajeel headbutts another thug in the head and throws him aside, with his enhanced hearing he clearly hears another thug coming in for an attack behind him and chuckles "Gihi." before then turning around and throwing his left arm forward. Transforming it into an Iron Club which extends outwards and slams into the man's chest sending him flying back into a far wall and getting slammed into it creating a few cracks on the wall as Gajeel retracts his club changes it back to his arm. Two thugs chuckle quietly as they approach Erza who is unfazed by them, the two thinking that attacking her was going to be easy...oh...oh how wrong they were about to find out they were going to be.

" **Requip!"** Erza says.

Her body is enveloped in golden light which as it dies down reveals her back in her normal Heart Kreuz armor. The two thugs are taken back in fear seeing this, a bad feeling all of a sudden coming to them as in a flash Erza leaps forward letting out a battle cry as she slams her right gauntlet fist into the right thugs face sending him flying back, with some teeth flying out into the air as well. The other thug attempts to punch her from the side which Erza ducks under, falling to the ground on her hands and sweep kicking him off his feet.

"Theoden...son of Thengel...too long have you sat in the Shadows." Gandalf says.

Aragorn moves forward and punches a man in Gandalf's path down to the ground, Legolas throws a back elbow into another thug behind him, and Gimli kicks another thug to the ground. Natsu lifts up a thug by the collar of his shirt and throws him without problem into a nearby pillar taking him out. Natsu then looks over and sees Grima on the ground cowering in fear, Grima looks and spots Natsu looking at him as the Fire Dragon Slayer quickly approaches him before he can make any kind of getaway and knocks Grima back to the ground planting his foot on him "I suggest you stay down. Otherwise, you just might get burned." Natsu says raising his right fist and engulfing it in flames terrifying Grima even more.

"Hearken to me!" Gandalf calls out catching Theoden's attention as he eyed him out of the corner of his eyes with his head turned slightly away.

All of a sudden the civilians, and soldiers in the room begin to gather behind Aragorn, Natsu, and the others "I release you…" Gandalf says as he lifts his left hand forward and closes his eyes "...from the spell." Gandalf finishes.

A few seconds pass by, and nothing seems to happen. All of a sudden Theoden begins to chuckle ghastly before turning towards Gandalf and full on laughs at him now loudly into the air "You have no power here...Gandalf the Grey." Theoden says.

Theoden laughs once again though this only lasts for a few seconds before suddenly Gandalf throws his cloak off and reveals his white robes causing Theoden to cry out, the room seems to brighten up and Theoden's head slams back against the throne chair.

"I will draw you Saruman as poison is drawn from a wound." Gandalf says before throwing his staff forward and slamming Theoden back against his chair pinning him there. Far in the back a woman with long blond hair and a white dress rushes out wondering what all the commotion is and sees Gandalf and Theoden. The woman attempts to rush forward to seemingly help Theoden but is quickly grabbed and pulled back by Aragorn "Wait." he says to the woman as she looks at him before looking back.

Theoden stares with anger at Gandalf as he attempts to get up from the seat again "If I go, Theoden dies…" Saruman says through Theoden's body.

Gandalf swings his staff forward again knocking Theoden back into the chair "You did not kill me...you will not kill him." Gandalf states.

Theoden is once again attempting to push himself up from the chair still struggling against Gandalf's power "Rohan is mine." Saruman says.

Gandalf continues to get closer to Theoden, pushing his staff forward again and slamming Theoden back against the chair "Be gone." Gandalf says one last time.

Theoden continues the struggle, eventually managing to leap forward from his chair but with a battle cry as Gandalf swings his staff forward and knocks him back against it…

 _Meanwhile at Orthanc…_

Saruman is sent flying to the ground as he turns around on his body now in pain. He lifts his head up slowly in shock as blood trickles down the sides of his nose.

 _Back at Edoras…_

Gandalf eases down and takes a few steps back as Theoden slouches back onto his chair and begins to fall forward. The woman quickly rushes forward and catches him, the Rohan soldier from before puts a hand on his comrades shoulder as the two, along with everyone else in the room fears for their King's safety that Gandalf was finally able to release him from Saruman's control and is still alive. Theoden begins to breathe again at a calm, and steady rate as he lifts himself back up and looks around, a lost and confused look on his face as all of a sudden he appears to begin to de-age. The hair growing shorter and changing colors, the majority of the wrinkles going away, and his pale skin returning normally white again, in just a few short seconds his hair is medium-length, his beard a circle one as both of them are blonde in color now.

Theoden has returned to normal. He looks at the woman holding him as she smiles with joy, tears falling down her face "I know your face...Eowyn...Eowyn." Theoden says, the woman now identified as Eowyn, who was his niece continues to cry in joy to see him normal again.

Theoden turns and then looks up at Gandalf as does Eowyn "Gandalf?" Theoden asks.

"Breathe the free air again, my friend." Gandalf says as Theoden begins to stand up, Eowyn helping him to do so since he was still a bit weakened.

Theoden looks upon the people in the room "Dark have been my dreams of late." Theoden says as he then looks and begins to feel his own hands.

"Your fingers would remember their own strength better...if they grasped your sword." Gandalf says as then the Rohan soldier who Theoden knew as Hama, steps up to him with his sword sheathed away. Theoden reached forward and slowly wrapped his hand around the sword's grip, adorned above it was two gleaming horses' heads touching noses as he then slowly began to pull it out. Grima who was now being held on his knees by Gimli attempted to crawl away, terror written on his face since he knew what was going to happen to him but was held back by Gimli. Theoden pulled the sword out and held it upwards, looking upon the long blade of it for a few seconds, before slowly turning his eyes towards the one person who had turned him into that poisoned, weakened mind and state in the first place, Grima...who was now completely trembling on the ground.

* * *

Hama and another Rohirrim throw Grima as he lands on and rolls down the second set of stairs leading up to the Golden Hall. The scene immediately attracts all of the villagers and other Rohirrim below as they begin to gather at the foot of the first set of stairs. Grima cries out in pain as he rolls around on the ground, slowly coming down the stairs towards him was Theoden, his sword in hand "I've only...ever! Served you, my lord." Grima says as he begins to crawl away backwards on his hands down the other stairs.

Theoden still walking towards him followed by Gandalf, Hama, and two more Rohirrim who had their hands on their swords ready to pull out should anything happen. "Your leechcraft, would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!" Theoden says in anger through clenched teeth.

"Send me not from your sight." Grima pleads, however Theoden raises his sword and is ready to strike him down without a second thought. When suddenly "No my lord! No my lord." Aragorn calls out as he has rushed down and quickly grabs his arms stopping him from killing Grima, the sword just a few feet away from his face.

"Let him go...Enough blood has been spilt on his account." Aragorn says as Theoden looks at him.

Grima continues to cower on the ground as Theoden calms down and Aragorn approaches him, holding his hand out to help him up to which Grima spits on it, disgusting Aragorn as he pulls it back and shakes it.

"Get out of my way!" Grima yells out as he gets up and runs through the crowd of people.

"Hail Theoden King!" Aragorn announces. The gathered people immediately getting on a knee and bowing forward to their king. Aragorn himself even gets down and bows to him as behind Theoden the Rohirrim bow their heads forward while Natsu, and the others, Eowyn as well watch from up above from a jutting out walkway. Theoden turns around and looks at the people who are out from the Golden Hall, his eyes squint close a bit "Where is Theodred?" Theoden asks opening his eyes again as something dawns upon him.

"Where is my son?"

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **Mataras:** Exactly! Each author has their own version of stories and you never know. They could be the same in the slightest of ways sometimes, or completely different. And it's like that all over the internet, there are the pleased people that just find excitement and joy in certain if not all things. And then the people who always have to nitpick at stuff like this and that and is just a party pooper.

To **FlameDragonHime:** As a matter of fact yes, I have this whole story already planned out. Something I did recently is create a Google Doc in which I plan all of my stories out Arc, by Arc, episode, by episode, movie, by movie, etc...some fully like this one. Some only to certain extents. That way I ain't going into stories all blinded and whatnot thinking, oh, what would be funny here, or what about this part and stuff. Etc...


	10. Natsu's Startling Discovery!

Theodred, son of King Theoden...was dead. The Prince of Rohan had been injured some time ago during an ambush by Orcs of Isengard and brought back by Eomer and his men before they were banished by the brainwashed Theoden, unfortunately it appeared that just yesterday, before Aragorn and the others arrived at Edoras he had succumbed to his wounds and died. A funeral was held immediately the next day for him to be buried beneath a tomb outside the gates; one which everyone attended as they watched in silence, and sadness, especially Theoden, and Eowyn, as Rohirrim soldiers carried him over their shoulders on a stretcher to be buried. Gandalf, Aragorn, Natsu, and the rest of the group attended the funeral as well to pay their respects to the fallen prince, Eowyn began to chant something in another language the members of Team Natsu did not understand, but could only guess that it was used to honor the fallen.

The tomb was then sealed once he was placed inside and everyone dispersed not long afterwards; before leaving all of them had placed a small white flower around the tomb, a special kind apparently that was always placed on the tombs of the fallen kings. Only Gandalf and Theoden remained afterwards as Theoden grieved for his fallen son with Gandalf being there to support him; however before they returned to the Golden Hall a horse carrying two children a little girl and a young boy appeared over the horizon. The two of them were starving having of been riding for a few days apparently, the young boy saying that they were survivors...perhaps the only ones...of an attack by Saruman's forces on a village in the Westfold region of Rohan. As he finished explaining their story food was brought to them so they could regain their energy, Eowyn kneeled down beside the little girl to comfort her as she looked at her uncle who sat at his throne chair, a hand over his face taking in everything that had been said as Gandalf sat beside him.

"They had no warning. They were unarmed." Eowyn stood up "Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go."

At another table Gimli, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel scarfed away at their own plates of food, Aragorn and Erza sat down but did not eat while Legolas stood beside Aragorn, all of them nonetheless listening in to this information. "Rick, cot and tree." Eowyn finishes.

"Where is Mama?" the little girl asked in a worried and frightened tone looking up at Eowyn who turned around and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

"Shh." Eowyn says trying to calm and comfort her.

"This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash. All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron. Ride out and meet him head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight." Gandalf suggests as Theoden begins to turn his head slowly towards him.

"You have 2,000 good men riding north as we speak. Eomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king." Aragorn says.

Theoden stands up and begins to walk "They will be 300 leagues from here by now." he says walking a few feet towards the table the children and Eowyn are at before stopping and turning back towards the group. "Eomer cannot help us." Theoden says.

Gandalf begins to walk towards Theoden when he suddenly speaks up "I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people…" he says as he looks back at Gandalf, stunning Gandalf at what he was hearing "I will not risk open war." Theoden finishes.

Erza narrowed her eyes as her arms were crossed, she was not liking what she was hearing one bit as beside her Aragorn took the pipe out from his mouth "Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not." he says.

Eowyn turns her eyes towards him as Theoden turns around and takes a few steps towards him "When last I looked...Theoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan." Theoden states.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he was about to stand up to say something, but a hand from Erza placed on his shoulder caught his attention as he looked at her and saw her shake her head. A message saying not to interfere and say anything. Natsu didn't like it, all Aragorn was trying to do was help this guy and his people but he wouldn't listen to reason.

"Then what is the king's decision?" Gandalf asks taking a few steps towards him.

Theoden turns around, his eyes to the ground before looking back up _"By order of the king…"_

 _Sometime Later…_

"...the city must empty." Hama states while moving around. All around him the civilians and Rohirrim began to move out, the civilians and a few soldiers on foot and other Rohirrim on horseback.

"We make for the refuge of Helm's Deep. Do not burden yourself with treasures. Take only what provisions you need." Hama continues to say as all of the civilians murmur amongst one another about what was going on. Everyone was quickly doing what was said, gathering only the necessities to take on the long trip since it would take a few days to reach the place known as Helm's Deep, the sick and elderly being helped by family and friends.

"Helm's Deep!" Gandalf states in a tone of disbelief as he and the others walked down the hill through Edoras.

"They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight. Who will defend them if not their king?" Gimli questions as the group soon reaches the stables.

"He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people. Helm's Deep has saved them in the past." Aragorn says.

"There is no way out of that ravine. Theoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he's leading them to safety. What they will get is a massacre." Gandalf says as he, Erza, and Aragorn walk up to the stall with Shadowfax behind it.

"Theoden has a strong will, but I fear for him. I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need you, Aragorn, and he will need you and the other mages, Erza. The people of Rohan will need you. The defenses have to hold." Gandalf says.

"They will hold." Aragorn promises.

"We'll give Saruman everything we've got. Show him what Fairy Tail mages are made of." Erza says.

Gandalf turns and approaches his horse as he begins to stroke it gently "The Grey Pilgrim. That's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of Men I've walked this earth, and now I have no time. With luck my search will not be in vain" Gandalf says mounting Shadowfax.

"Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east." Gandalf says as Aragorn and Erza move aside, both of them nodding their heads understanding him.

"Go." Aragorn whispers.

"Good luck." Erza says.

Gandalf spurs Shadowfax forward through the stables, Legolas, Gimli, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel quickly move aside and watch him ride off.

 _Isengard…_

The pillars of smoke continue to rise from the pits beneath Isengard as the Orcs continue to work at building weapons for war, Grima on horseback appears and rides down the road towards Orthanc.

"Gandalf the White. Gandalf the Fool!" Saruman angrily says to himself as he paces back and forth in his room in Orthanc. "Does he seek to humble me with his newfound piety?" Saruman questions as then Grima appears at the doorway and enters.

"There were seven who followed the wizard. An Elf, a Dwarf, a Man, and four Children, three young boys, and one young girl." Grima says.

Saruman sniffs his nose "You stink of horse."

Grima turns and takes a few steps away from Saruman "The Man…" Saruman then turns towards him "...was he from Gondor?"

Grima taps a cloth against his bleeding lip before stopping to answer "No, from the North. One of the Dunedain Rangers, I thought he was. His cloth was poor. And yet...he bore a strange ring. Two serpents with emerald eyes. One devouring, the other crowned with golden flowers."

Saruman opens a book up in his study right to the page where the same ring Grima described to him is shown "The Ring of Barahir...So Gandalf Greyhame thinks he has found Isildur's heir. The lost king of Gondor. He is a fool. The line was broken years ago." Saruman says closing the book and pushing it away.

"And tell me, what of these...children?" Saruman asks.

"Very strange their appearance I can tell you that. The clothing, even their hairs were odd. Especially the boy with pink hair, and the girl, scarlet red like blood. But...do not let their looks deceive you, they are far stronger than you could ever imagine. They possessed great strength, one that can easily surpass that of any normal Man and Orc, maybe even on par with your Uruks, quite possibly even trolls as well. And they knew how to fight. However...that wasn't the worse of it. It appears...they possess magic." Grima says.

Hearing this Saruman leapt up from his seat and turned towards him "What did you say?" Saruman asks.

"Magic. The boy with the pink hair, could produce and control flames without hurting himself, the girl could change and equip armor and weapons in an instant, another one of the boys, this one who was...shirtless for some reason when he started fighting. His magic seems related to ice, he froze someone completely solid in an instant, and the other man who had, pieces of metal embedded into parts of his face and arms, he was able to change his body parts into weapons of iron. And I get this feeling, there was more to them then what they had showed there. That they were only holding back." Grima explains.

"So...it is true. Gandalf has somehow collected a group of young children who possess magical abilities. And if what I have heard from some of our spies is true, there are five more of them. Two young girls, one that can summon what appear to be spirits or something using golden keys, the other who is nothing more but a mere child that has control over the winds itself. And three...talking cats that can spread wings to fly, and one of which can make itself bigger and wields a sword that can change its length. Was there anything else that caught your eye about them?" Saruman asks.

"As a matter of fact there was. There was this...strange symbol that I noticed all of them had. Different colors for each of them, and located on a different part of their body for each. I don't know what to make of it, I couldn't tell if it was...some kind of bird or...what." Grima says.

"The symbol you saw was not a bird. From what Lord Sauron has told me...these children come from some kind of magic guild. One from another world. Somehow transported here to help Gandalf and his cohorts to fight us. The name of this...guild. Fairy Tail." Saruman says.

"Fairy Tail?" Grima questions "Do fairies even have tails?" Grima wonders, making Saruman look angrily at him as he cowers back a bit.

Saruman turns away "It does not matter. If Gandalf thinks a few children with powerful magical abilities can change this war. He is mistaken. The world of Men shall fall. It will begin at Edoras." Saruman says.

 _Back at Edoras…_

The civilians begin to move out through the gate, it was time to leave Edoras and head to Helm's Deep. Inside the Golden Hall the remaining civilians and Rohirrim quickly pack and grab as many chests as they could carry with essentials for Helm's Deep. Eowyn was at one such chest, pulling out a sheathed sword as she then unsheathed it and looked upon the blade, slowly sliding her hand down its lower half and then keeping it at the bottom. Eowyn then spun around and held her sword at the ready, she swung it upwards a few times and then held it sideways close to the side of her head and then swung it around, only to suddenly be blocked by the dagger of Aragorn who had approached her from behind shocking her a bit.

"You have some skill with a blade." Aragorn says impressed.

Suddenly in one quick circular swing she pushes Aragorn's dagger away and holds her sword at his face, a determined look in her eyes. Aragorn has his hand and dagger raised as a gesture of surrender as he then lowers them and looks at her "Women of this country learned long ago: Those without swords can still die upon them" Eowyn says sheathing the sword away.

"I fear neither death nor pain."

"What do you fear my lady?" Aragorn asks.

Eowyn puts the sword back and looks back at Aragorn "A cage...To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them. And all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire." Eowyn replies.

Aragorn slowly shakes his head "You are a daughter of Kings...a shield maiden of Rohan." Aragorn finishes catching her attention again. The two look at each other for a few seconds as Aragorn sheathes his dagger away.

"I do not think that would be your fate." Aragorn says, Eowyn looks at him actually looking surprised like she did not expect that kind of response. Aragorn bows a few inches forward before turning and leaving.

"If you would like…" Eowyn looks to her right to see Erza leaning against a pillar "...perhaps I could show you a thing or two. Help you improve your skills, if you wouldn't mind?" Erza asks as she stands up and walks a few feet towards her.

"...Erza...correct?" Eowyn asks as Erza nods her head.

"I have heard a few things about you and your comrades from your friends. Where you come from is very, very far away, even from Middle-Earth itself...it's quite amazing. Not only do you possess magic that allows you to change weapons, and armor in an instant. But you're skills with a sword are incredible. However, do not be surprised if any of the soldiers try to talk down on you no matter what they have seen or heard. I can tell that you could equal at least twenty of them, and they would still do so. I could only wish that perhaps I could visit your land someday and see the beauty of the place that raised such a noble, and powerful warrior such as you; but from what I heard that would be impossible?" Eowyn asks.

Erza closes her eyes and nods her head "It's...a bit complicated." she opens her eyes "But do not worry. Should any of these brave Rohirrim choose to do so, I will gladly show them what I am capable of, even without a sword." Erza says.

"...If you could then please. Show me your skills. Teach me to be a better warrior so that I can show men that even women can fight if they choose to do so." Eowyn asks.

Erza nods her head "Of course." Erza says as Eowyn smiles hearing this.

From nearby Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel watch and listen in on the conversation between the two "Eowyn training under Erza...I feel sorry for her already." Gray says closing his eyes with his arms crossed.

"Aye…" Natsu and Gajeel say at the same time with their eyes closed and worried expressions as Natsu carries a chest in his arms and Gajeel leans against another pillar.

 _Later…_

The last of the people in Edoras begin to head out, everything they needed packed onto carts, carried in their hands or on their backs, everyone from the healthy, the sick, the wounded, the old, the young, all of them on the move or being carried if they could not walk. Soldiers of Rohan standing, walking, or riding beside them as they headed out in a very long column. Theoden turned back and looked at his people, all of them had saddened, and weakened looks on their faces as Aragorn and the others mounted their horses and slowly rode out as well, helping to keep an eye on everyone to make sure they were all okay.

" _Theoden will not stay at Edoras."_

 _Orthanc…_

"It's vulnerable. He knows this. He will expect an attack on the city. They will flee to Helm's Deep...the great fortress of Rohan. It is a dangerous road to take through the mountains. They will have women, and children with them." Grima explains as Saruman raises his eyebrows a bit, looking like he was intrigued by this information.

 _Down in the pits below Isengard…_

Saruman walks through the pits passing by many of his Orcs before coming a stop "Send out your Warg-riders." Saruman says to one specific Orc that was sitting down sharpening his blade. The two looked down into another pit where shadowy animal forms bounce all over the walls attacking one another, vicious roars coming from whatever the animals were that inhabited it as the Orc looked back at Saruman and gave him a toothy, sadistic grin.

 _Somewhere else…_

In a forest region by the looks of their surroundings, Sam, Frodo, and the Exceeds walk/fly up a stream with big rocks all over, up ahead of them was Gollum who appeared to be looking in the water for fish. Spotting one he dove into the water only for the fish to slip through his hands and start jumping away through the water with Gollum right behind attempting again and again to grab it only for the slippery fish to slip through his hands.

"Hey, Happy, why don't you show him your skills in catching fish?" Lily quietly says to Happy with a smirk making Happy chuckle.

As Gollum continues to chase after the fish, Happy suddenly flies in and catches it in one fell swoop "Don't mind me." Happy shouts while flying away.

"Hey! That's my fish you stupid kitty!" Gollum angrily yells.

"Win some lose some!" Happy calls back as he flies back high over his head towards the others. Gollum growls in anger as he looks down and immediately spots another fish which makes him start going after it again.

"Hey stinker, don't go getting too far ahead." Sam calls out to him.

"Why do you do that?" Frodo asks looking at Sam from behind questionably.

Sam turns around and looks at Frodo "What?" the two stop walking.

"Call him names. Run him down all the time." Frodo says.

"Because…" Sam looks over at Gollum to make sure he hasn't gone too far and then looks back at Frodo "Because that's what he is Mr. Frodo. There's naught left in him but lies and deceit. It's the Ring he wants. It's all he cares about." Sam says.

"You have no idea what it did to him...what it's still doing to him." Frodo says walking by Sam forward a few feet before stopping. "I want to help him Sam."

"Why?" Sam asks.

Gollum is on a rock close to a small waterfall ahead, having of lost the fish apparently and not being able to find anymore as he looks back at Frodo with a happy open smile on his face while catching his breath from the chase.

"Because I have to believe he can come back." Frodo says.

Sam walks up to his back "You can't save him Mr. Frodo." he says.

"What do you know about it? Nothing!" Frodo angrily states turning around and looking at Sam with the same anger in his eyes.

Sam is frozen in shock from Frodo's sudden outburst, a pained look on his face before he shakes his head and begins to walk away from Frodo. A realization of what he just did dawns upon Frodo's face, he looks over at the Exceeds who stand and stare in shock at him, the three having of been eating the fish that Happy caught until the sudden outburst from Frodo. "I'm sorry Sam. I don't know why I said that." Frodo apologizes in a sincere tone making Sam stop.

"I do." Sam says as he turns and faces him "It's the Ring. You can't take your eyes off it. I've seen you. You're not eating. You barely sleep." Sam takes a few steps towards Frodo till he's right in front of him. "It's taken hold of you Mr. Frodo. You have to fight it." Sam says.

"I know what I have to do Sam. The Ring was entrusted to me. It's my task. Mine! My own!" Frodo states once again with anger in his voice and eyes.

"Frodo…" Happy says catching Frodo's attention with the anger still in his eyes.

"Sam's just trying to look after you. We all are just like we're supposed to." Carla says.

"And what he says is true. Listen to your friend, don't let anger take control of you." Lily says.

Frodo however seems to push their thoughts aside as he turns and begins walking away "Can't you hear yourself? Don't you know who you sound like?" Sam calls out in a worried tone, but Frodo just keeps on walking.

 _The Next Day…_

Sam stands between two stone pillars looking off into the distance of the forest and mountains, the Exceeds and Frodo behind him as the Exceeds take a rest and have some food and drinks while Frodo is fast asleep lying against a rock. Gollum appears having of come back from somewhere with something in his mouth, that something which he drops on Frodo's lap waking and startling him as Frodo looks down to see...two dead Rabbits on him.

"Look. Look. See what Smeagol finds?" Gollum says in a joyous tone as he then begins jumping around in a circle in place while laughing. Frodo looks at Sam smiling as Sam and the Exceeds just look at the scene with worried expressions.

Gollum stops dancing and laughing as he then grabs one of the rabbits "They are young." he then breaks the rabbits back which seems to disgust Frodo now. "They are tender. They are nice. Yes, they are. Eat them. Eat them!" Gollum asks repeatedly.

Then taking a bite into the rabbit as he begins to pull away at the meat and skin, the Exceeds look on in shock and disgust with their mouths dropped open. Lily looks at the piece of fish in his hand "I think I've lost my appetite." Lily says.

"Aye…" Happy says.

"That is gross!" Carla yells out closing her eyes and covering her ears.

Sam quickly walks over and grabs the rabbit from Gollum "You'll make him sick you will!" Sam pushes Gollum away "Behaving like that." he then picks up the other rabbit "There's only one way to eat a brace of coneys." Sam says.

Gollum cries out in disgust and horror, Sam now cooking a pot with soup and the meat of the rabbits in it over the fire pit. "What's it doing?" Gollum questions as the two Hobbits and the Exceeds sit around waiting for the meal to be cooked, Sam adding some spice into it.

"Stupid, fat Hobbit! It ruins it." Gollum angrily says, the first part making Sam look at him annoyed but then gets right back to cooking the soup.

"What's to ruin. There's hardly any meat on them." Sam says as Frodo walks over to their backpacks to grab some bowls and spoons. All of a sudden he hears a strange bird-like sound, maybe perhaps a whistle of some kind, it was a bit hard to tell but it caught his attention as he looked around wondering what it was.

"At least it's better than eating them just plain raw." Lily says.

"Aye! Eating fish raw is good, but anything else is nasty!" Happy says.

"While the lembas bread is good it is nice to have something else once in a while when we can." Carla says.

"I know. But what we need is a few good taters right about now with this." Sam says.

"What's taters, precious? What's taters? Eh?" Gollum asks as Frodo stands up and looks in the direction the noise he heard came from.

"Po-ta-toes." Sam says annoyed by his questions.

"Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew." Sam continues to explain as Gollum groans annoyed as he falls on his knees and covers his ears, none of them however noticing Frodo walking away.

"Lovely, big, golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish." Sam says.

"Mhm~. I love the sound of that." Happy says as he hums in delight.

Gollum spits blowing a raspberry at him. Sam looks at him "Even you couldn't say no to that." Sam says.

"Oh yes we could. Spoil a nice fish." Gollum says, suddenly walking right up to Sam and looking him in the face "Give it to us raw...and wriggling. You keep nasty chips." Gollum says as Sam lifts the big spoon up to his mouth to give it a taste but then looks at Gollum and shakes his head "You're hopeless." he says.

"While I'll admit that raw fish is better than cooked fish. I still like it in any way possible, especially if it comes with some other good food." Happy says.

"Speaking of fish, how much of that fish you got from Lorien do you have left?" Lily asks.

"Oh, still half of it. Lady Galadriel was right one bite just like the lembas breads and it fills me up." Happy says.

"I'm actually quite surprised you haven't scarfed it down yet. Even if that is the case." Carla says playfully.

"I know, but it's so good that I actually don't want to eat all of it yet. Not at least until we have to leave this place since we don't even know if our gifts from Galadriel will come with us back home." Happy says.

"Hm~, that is actually quite true now that I think about it. Will the gifts she's given us actually teleport back with us or will they just disappear?" Lily wonders.

"Ah, that's too bad. I was actually starting to like this ribbon to." Carla says looking at the ribbon on her tail.

"If you guys want we can eat some more of it now." Happy says reaching into his backpack and pulling out...the skeletal remains of his fish.

"AH~!" Happy cries out in terror "My fish! What happened to my delicious fish Lady Galadriel gave me!" Happy cries out.

"Oopsy...was that your fishy, kitty?" Gollum says in a mischievous tone with a grin.

"YOU ATE MY FISH! LILY KILL HIM! CUT HIM TO PIECES HE HAS TO PAY FOR WHAT HE DID TO MY FISH!" Happy angrily cries out and continues to yell out random stuff as Lily just looks at him.

"I don't think Frodo would appreciate me cutting him apart just because he ate your fish…" Lily says with a sweatdrop.

"As tempting as it would be…" Carla says under her breath taking a sip of water from her satchel. Just then the group hear the same strange noise that Frodo heard and look around, and take notice of Frodo's absence "Mr. Frodo?" Sam calls out.

"W-What the?" Lily says.

"Where'd he go?" Happy asks in a panic.

"And what was that sound?" Carla questions.

Nearby Frodo gets down and crawls between some bushes coming to an edge on the hill overlooking a massive open area in the forest below. Where men all dressed up in black and dark red colored robes/cloth that covered their faces, along with a large amount of various different jewelry on their clothing, wielding an assortment of weapons walked through in massive numbers. It appeared they were soldiers, but for whom Frodo did not know, but what he did know by the looks of it was that they were heading towards Mordor. Sam, Gollum, and the Exceeds appeared behind Frodo and looked down at all of the soldiers "Who are they?" Sam asks.

"Wicked Men. Servants of Sauron. They are called to Mordor. The Dark One is gathering all armies to him. It won't be long now, he will soon be ready." Gollum says.

"Ready to do what?" Sam asks.

"What else would Sauron need a massive army for? For war." Lily says.

"Exactly. The last war that will cover all the world in Shadow." Gollum says.

"So these guys must be allies to Sauron just like those armored guys we saw at the Black Gate. How many evil men are there that they would side with him out of their own kind?" Carla questions.

"We've got to get moving. Come on guys." Frodo says as he begins to move away along with the others, when a low bellowing sound catches Sam's attention "Mr. Frodo." he says catching his and the Exceeds attention again.

"Look." Sam says as just then from the trees behind the evil men, what appear to be massive elephants but with six tusks, two on the bottom jaw, two larger ones where a normal elephant's tusks would be, and two small ones above them appear. On the back of the two creatures were wooden framework structures that were tied around the bests' bellies, an outer ring platform around a tower in the middle making three levels of platforms for more of these soldiers to stand on, with another soldier apparently controlling the creature from the front saddle above their head with two long wooden planks sticking out forward from the frameworks above the creature's heads and ropes tied to the front tips that lead up to the top platform of the tower.

"What in the world?" Lily says.

"It's an oliphaunt." Sam says in awe.

"Oliphaunt? Don't you mean elephant?" Happy asks.

"Elephant?" Sam asks.

"Happy, remember different world. Different creatures. Though they kind of do resemble elephants back home, these things look twice their size, and twice as dangerous with those six tusks instead of two." Carla says.

"Especially since they look like they're meant for war." Lily says.

Sam hearing this decides to ignore it since it seemed the Exceeds had animals almost like these back home just different, he looks back "No one at home will believe this." Sam says with an awed smile as he looks at Frodo. Frodo was also in awe, when suddenly the strange noise they heard from before echoes out into the air, this time sounding a lot more closer alerting them that something was up. Gollum however appeared to be even more scared as he snuck back and then scurried off "Smeagol?" Frodo questions wondering why he left.

"You know...I know we're not supposed to trust Gollum. But maybe if he ran off, we should trust he has a very good reason as to why." Happy whispers to Carla and Lily.

All of a sudden, arrows start flying in from out of nowhere and bodies of the evil soldiers below begin dropping as it also seems to scare the giant oliphaunts who begin shaking around violently knocking some of the soldier's off the platforms. The evil men look around wondering where the shots are coming from as all of them yell out in a panic in another language, but more and more of them just continue to get dropped by incoming arrows. All around, behind bushes, and trees, men in green cloaks continue to fire their arrows from their bows, taking out more and more of the evil men and causing the giant monsters to go into a state of panic causing them to throw more men off the platforms as the others try to hold on.

One particular cloaked man looks out from his cover and seems to spot Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds, just as then one of the oliphaunts begins going on a rampage towards them, making the five look up in shock and terror at the sight of the creature coming towards them. The cloaked man pulls back and releases an arrow, taking out one of the men on the platform as he screams out and falls off the platform landing right behind the five as the oliphaunt turns away into a different direction.

"We've lingered here too long." Frodo says as he gets up and begins to walk away quietly, Sam and the Exceeds however remain for some reason. Frodo noticing this stops and looks back at them "Come on Sam. Happy, Carla, Lily." Frodo calls back.

As Frodo turns back around, he immediately runs right into one of the cloaked men. Sam stands up and turns to notice this "Oi!" he shouts while stumbling to grab his sword.

The cloaked man grabs Frodo's arm to keep him from escaping as Frodo attempts to pull away, Sam gets his dagger out and charges forward only to be tripped by another cloaked man appearing from his side. Happy and Carla sprout their wings and fly forward into the air, only for two cloaked men to appear from either side and throw bags in front of them causing the two Exceeds to accidentally fly into them and get trapped as the two quickly close the bags up.

"Hey!" Happy cries out from the bag.

"Let us out!" Carla cries out as well as the two struggle inside the bags to get free.

Lily takes flight into the air towards the hooded men holding Happy and Carla, another one appears in front of him prepared to catch him as well but quickly Lily transforms into his Battle Mode and soars forward wingless as he throws a punch across the man's face sending him flying back a few feet. Lily turns around and strikes a charging hooded man with the back of his arm clotheslining him across the face sending him onto his back and kicking his feet into the air. Before Lily can grab his sword more hooded men appear with their swords drawn and arrows pointed right at him making him freeze.

Frodo is picked up and tossed back down to the ground, the hooded man over Sam unsheathes his sword and holds it against his chest.

"Wait! We're innocent travelers!" Sam says trying to get themselves out of the situation.

The hooded man from before appears "There are no travelers in this land. Only servants of the Dark Tower." he says as one of his men hold Frodo around the neck.

Seeing this was a losing fight Lily transforms himself back into his default form, and Happy, and Carla are thrown out the bags onto the ground. "And last I checked, innocent travelers did not having pets that could talk, fly, and transform into bulking forms of themselves to fight." the man says eyeing the Exceeds who look up at him angrily.

"What kind of creatures are you?" the man questions narrowing his eyes at them.

"If it helps our case, we can assure you we are no allies to Sauron." Lily says.

"We are bound to an errand of secrecy." Frodo speaks up making the man turn back towards him "Those that claim to oppose the enemy would do well not to hinder us." Frodo says.

"The enemy?" Faramir questions. He turns and takes a few steps over to the evil man he shot not that long ago as he looks down turning him over with his foot to get a look at his face "His sense of duty was no less than yours I deem. You wonder what his name is...where he came from. And if he was really evil at heart...What lies or threats led him on this long march from home. If he would not rather have stayed there...in peace."

The man turns back around "War will make corpses of us all. Bind their hands, and tie ropes around the cats necks." the man says as he walks past Frodo. Frodo looks on in shock as the hooded man behind him begins to bind his hands, the other picks Sam up as the Exceeds find ropes put around their necks and then tied to them.

* * *

The refugees of Edoras continue their travel towards Helm's Deep, at the current moment they were working their way around a massive lake that sat at the foot of a mountain "It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance" Gimli chuckles "that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men." he continues to say riding on a horse that is guided by Eowyn as she listens to his story with a smile finding it so far quite funny.

She turns her head back and looks at Aragorn "It's the beards." Aragorn whispers trying to word it to her, even making an invisible beard with his right hand. Eowyn shushes him while trying to contain her laughter from that one so Gimli doesn't hear her.

Gajeel and Gray snicker as they walk closely behind the two "Damn, must mean they're "real lookers" when both drunk or not." Gray whispers to Gajeel making him snicker quietly again.

"This, in turn has given rise to the belief, that there are no dwarf women. And that dwarves, just spring out of holes in the ground." Gimli says waving his hands up a bit to emphasize it making Eowyn laugh out loud and him chuckle.

"Hey, watch this." Gajeel whispers to Gray as he lifts his left hand forward and transforms his index finger into a sharp nail.

"Which is of course ridiculous." Gimli says when all of a sudden his horse neighs out and takes off, soon after Gimli goes flying off hitting the ground making a few refugees around him gasp out in shock hoping he was okay as Eowyn actually finds it a bit hilarious but quickly rushes over to make sure he's okay.

Gajeel and Gray both start laughing their asses off as Aragorn looks over to see Gajeel's finger transform back to normal making him smile a bit as he attempts to contain his laughter. "It's all right. Nobody panic. That was deliberate. It was deliberate." Gimli says aloud as Eowyn rushes over and begins to help him up to his feet.

"I haven't seen my niece smile for a long time." Theoden says as he rides his horse calmly beside Aragorn. "She was a girl when they brought her father back dead. Cut down by orcs. She watched her mother succumb to grief." Aragorn looks at her as he listens to him, Eowyn looks back brushing some dirt off Gimli while still laughing.

"Then she was left alone, to tend to her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man, who should have loved her as a father." Theoden finishes, Aragorn turns away from Theoden and looks back at her with a saddened look upon his face hearing this. Eowyn looks back at him smiling but that soon disappears as she notices his saddened face.

 _Sometime later…_

The refugees and soldiers make camp around a small lake to rest for the night before arriving at Helm's Deep tomorrow. Eowyn walks about with a pot of soup in her left hand, and some bowls and spoons in her right hand trying to find someone to give soup to as Gimli approaches her "Gimli." she says gesturing the pot towards him to see if he wanted any.

"Uh no, I couldn't." Gimli quickly says for some reason as he quickly walks past her "I really couldn't." Gimli whispers to himself.

Eowyn spots the mages of Team Natsu huddled together with Natsu and Gajeel both leaning against a rock to their back and walks over to them "Hello there, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Gajeel. Would you like some?" Eowyn asks showing them the pot of soup.

"Would I? I'm starving!" Natsu declares happily raising his arms into the air.

"It would be our pleasure." Erza says.

Eowyn sets the pot down and begins to fill up the bowls, placing a single spoon in each of them before handing them off to each of the mages. Natsu, Gajeel, and Gray look at the soup and raise their heads backwards bringing the bowls to their lips, and in one swig gulp all of the soup down their throats and let out satisfied sighs...before suddenly their eyes shoot open and gulp as sweat appears on their faces. Eowyn doesn't notice this as Erza brings the spoon to her mouth and sipped it quietly, Erza lowers the spoon and bowl and looks at Eowyn closing her eyes and smiling at her "Quite delicious Eowyn." Erza says.

"Thank you, made it myself." Eowyn looks over at the boys "If you three want I can give you some more?" she asks.

The three look at her with wide blank eyes and sweat pouring down their faces "N-No it's alright!" Natsu says, in a rather panicky voice.

"Y-yeah I'm feeling good. That definitely hit the spot." Gray says in the same voice as Natsu.

"So good I don't even need seconds." Gajeel says also panicking.

Eowyn seems to ignore their strange behavior as she stands up grabbing the pot and one other bowl she had left "Alright, if you want any more just come find me." she says as she walks off.

The three smile with their teeth showing completely as they watch her walk off, Erza her eyes closed and spoon and bowl still in her hands. "A~nd...she's gone." Gray says quietly through clenched teeth, as suddenly both Natsu and Gajeel turn around, lean over the rocks and gag out as they throw up with Gray just falling backwards to the ground letting out a disgusted groan.

Erza doesn't say anything, though her smile does disappear in place of a saddened one as she pours the bowl of soup out into the grass "Oh Eowyn...such a great warrior, but perhaps you should also practice cooking as well. It doesn't hurt to be both a great warrior and a cook."

Gajeel is sitting back down as he lets out a relieved sigh, picking up the bowl as he notices "Good, it's made of metal!" he says as in one bite he gobbles down the entire metal bowl.

Natsu looks seeing him eating his element and quickly thinks of the same thing "Quick, fire! I need to find fire to eat!" Natsu says as he gets up and rushes away.

"I really miss Mira's cooking. Seriously the first thing I'm doing when we get home is having one of everything Mira cooks!" Gray says.

"At least it was still better than the time we ate those monsters from that Dark Guild village." Erza says.

"Better yet, if we ever come back here let's make sure Mira comes along so she can teach Eowyn a thing or two about cooking." Gray says.

"Okay Gray I think you've made your point. You can stop talking bad about Eowyn's cooking skills." Erza says annoyed at his constant remarks.

"If you want I can call her back here for that second round for you since it was just me and the Dragon heads over here that said no to seconds." Gray says.

"Or better yet, maybe you should go save Aragorn. Looks like he could really use it." Gajeel says as Erza turns around with Gray sitting up and turning as the three see Aragorn and Eowyn talking. And they could tell he didn't want to eat the soup either, though as long as she was there, well…

"Poor guy." Gray says.

Erza also feels the same way as she stands up and begins calmly walking over so as to not draw attention or suspicion.

"Eowyn." Erza calls out catching her attention as she turns around.

"Since we have some time, perhaps you would like to start your training?" Erza asks.

"R-Right now?" Eowyn asks completely taken off by the suddenness of the request "I-I would love to but my soup and-"

"It is alright my lady." Aragorn quickly says realizing what Erza was doing "I will continue to pass this around in your place." Aragorn says as he takes the pot from her carefully.

"A-Are you sure?" Eowyn asks.

"Yes. After all, you do want to be a great warrior one day right? There is no one better to teach you then Erza." Aragorn says.

Eowyn is at a loss of words as she looks back at Erza and then back at Aragorn "A-Alright." she says as she begins walking towards Erza "Just let me get a sword." she says walking past Erza with Erza turning to follow her. Though turning her head back as Aragorn mouths off a _"Thank you"_ to her which she replies with a nod.

Aragorn looks at the pot in his hands and then begins looking around, unsure of what to do with it as he then lifts it up to his face "Well, guess when you want something destroyed…" he then turns "Natsu! I need you for something." he calls out as he begins to head off.

Time passes by, soon the sun begins to set to end the day and turn into night. Two swords clash and then pull away, Eowyn swings at Erza again but the Fairy Tail mage ducks underneath it and trips her making Eowyn fall forward to the ground. "We've been practicing for a while now. Are you sure you don't need a short break? I don't want to overexert you in the first session." Erza says walking behind her.

Eowyn pushes herself back up using her sword to help out as she stands up and turns back towards Erza, for the most part she wasn't that badly beat up as Erza was going easy on her, just some minor scrapes and dirt on her clothing from falling on the ground, sweat running down her face as she breathed to catch her breathe. "Breaks? There are no breaks when in battle. It is either kill, or be killed." Eowyn says.

Erza grunts as she smiles at her, she could really see a warrior within Eowyn, if only she had Requip magic she would make a fine Requip mage herself at Fairy Tail if she came from Earthland. "Alright then. Just saying though we are going to have to call it eventually since we can't exactly fight to the death or anything." Erza says.

Eowyn lets out a breathe of laughter "I know." Eowyn takes her fighting stance raising her sword forward in front of her. Erza keeps her sword held out to the side, one hand behind her back as the two begin to walk around in a circle facing each other. With a battle cry Eowyn charges forward as does Erza, the two's swords clash as they rush by each other, turning around their swords clash again before they pull back and swing again only to block each other out once more.

Eowyn pulls away and twists around swinging her sword attempting to go for Erza's legs for a sweep, but Erza sees this coming and flips her sword down to block the blade, Eowyn quickly pulls away before she can exploit the block. Erza decides to make a move launching herself forward as she begins to release a flurry of swings upon Eowyn from all directions, Eowyn proves herself quite well however in defending each and every attack while also keeping her ground instead of being driven back. Erza brings her sword back and swings it forward again. Eowyn blocks it holding the sword sideways as the two become deadlocked.

"Not bad. Not bad. You managed to block each of the swings. However…" Erza says as in one swift movement she pulls back, knocks Eowyn's sword up and then throws a headbutt into her head. Dazing Eowyn as she stumbles back allowing Erza to sweep kick her off her feet and fall onto her back, Eowyn attempts to recover but finds a sword held at her throat.

"Don't forget, the enemy will fight dirty and use whatever methods they can to try and daze you or knock you off balance. Allowing them to then finish you off. And if that happens you need to recover quickly so you can retaliate before they have the chance to do so." Erza says.

Eowyn nods her head, Erza holds her other hand out as Eowyn accepts it and is pulled back up "Somehow, I get this strange feeling you're holding back." Eowyn says.

Erza raises an eyebrow "If you want, I can go all out." Erza says slyly.

"I think that's good. After all last I checked none of the opponents I am fighting are mages who can change weapons and armor. And it also shows that you really are strong and skilled, as well as feared even by your male compatriots. I could see the fear in their eyes when I asked you to teach me back at the Golden Hall." Eowyn says.

Erza chuckles "Yeah well, when you have morons like them around who can go overboard and cause as much destruction as the enemy we're supposed to defeat. Someone needs to be there to keep them in line. However, just because they are that doesn't mean they aren't good friends. In fact they're more then my friends, they're my family." Erza says.

"What happened to your original family?" Eowyn asks.

"Don't know. Never knew them, let's just say my childhood...well...it was something a child should never have to go through." Erza says with a sorrowed look on her face.

"I...I am so sorry to hear." Eowyn says now feeling bad for bringing up what seemed like a horrible past in her life.

Erza however shakes her head with her eyes closed before looking back at Eowyn with a smile "It's alright...somehow, I get this feeling that if it wasn't for whatever happened. Then I never would've met them, and everyone else who's become my true family."

"And there are a few more of you out there right? I heard you got separated?" Eowyn asks.

"Yeah. Two more girls, one around my age, the other just a child. And then three, well you would know them as cats, but they're really Exceeds. Put it simple cats that can talk, and spread wings as their magic to fly. The two girls got captured by a party of Uruk-hai along with two more friends of ours, we chased after them until we ran into Gandalf who told us they were safe and needed where they are now. The three Exceeds are with two more friends of ours who are on their own mission of great secrecy, we were supposed to be with them but because of our friends' capture we had to go after them." Erza explains.

"I see. I feel sorry for this child, she must be really scared." Eowyn says.

"Hm, do not worry about Wendy. She may be just a child, but she is very strong. After all, the magic she possesses is similar to Natsu and Gajeel's, but has to do with the Sky." Erza says.

"Really? That's...amazing. She can control the very air?" Eowyn asks.

"Yeah. She can also heal people's injuries and illnesses as well. She is fine I'm sure, as well as Lucy, who wields special keys that allow her to summon spirits from another place." Erza says.

"My...there is a lot to you mages then meets the eye." Eowyn says in awe.

"I guess you could say that. There's a lot more to us then we can let you on about. But perhaps one day before we have to return to our home we can tell you everything." Erza says.

"I see. I understand." Eowyn says.

"Now then. Want another go?" Erza asks.

"Eowyn!" the two turn to see Theoden, Eowyn's uncle walking towards them with two Rohirrim to his rear.

"There is something you must do, go see Hama he will tell you the rest." Theoden says.

"Of course uncle." Eowyn says as she looks at Erza before walking off.

"Eowyn." Theoden says making her stop as she looks back at him "The sword." he says, Eowyn looks at her uncle but doesn't say a word as she walks over to one of the Rohirrim behind him and hands the soldier her sword before walking off.

Erza de-summons her sword from her hand and begins walking to go back to the others, when suddenly Theoden steps in her way making her stop. "I know what it is you are doing. And I do not approve of it in the slightest." Theoden begins to say, making Erza squint her eyes at him as anger begins to boil inside her, she knew where he was going.

"She belongs far away, safe from the killings and death of a battlefield. And the last thing I need is you encouraging her to think otherwise. You will stop your teachings before you infect her mind any more than it already is." Theoden says.

"That's not your decision to make...Not anymore. She is of a rightful age where I believe she has the right to make her own decisions. To choose her own path, not those that another person wants of her." Erza retorts trying to remain in a calm tone.

Theoden looks at her "I already lost my son...I will not lose her because of this war as well." Theoden says, the anger and annoyance in his tone rising.

"And if she learns to defend herself she has a higher chance of surviving then not learning a thing. It shouldn't matter that she's a woman. Where I come from, man and woman alike if they can fight, they can fight. They are treated equally, as friends, and comrades in arms. And even then where I come from, there are foolish men who continue to make mistakes that all women are easy prey, only to find out in the end how wrong they are. Terrible things happen when you do not know how to fight. Lives are lost. People that could have been saved, if you only knew how to fight. If your niece wants to fight, then that is her own choice. I am not forcing her to do anything, I am only helping her achieve her dreams. To be able to fight like anyone else, and protect the people she loves when they need her." Erza says.

Theoden narrows his eyes at Erza and leans closer down towards her "I do not care who you are, what you are capable of, or who your friends are. If you think you can talk to me like that, question my authority, you are sorely mistaken...You do not know, what it feels like to lose one of your own kin." Theoden states in a sour tone.

Erza grunts and clenches her teeth "You think I don't know?" Erza questions now staring right into Theoden's eyes with hate.

"You think, I don't know what it feels like to lose someone important? Do not act like you know me, King Theoden. But the last thing you should ever assume, is that me, or any of my friends for that matter have never lost anything because we are just "children." Because we **all** have lost someone important to us. And it was those loses that brought us together in the first place, not just as friends to care for each other, not just as fellow mages, but as a family. So that we could be there for each other, to fill the void lost by those we loved. I lost a lot, even when I was just a little kid. And if it wasn't for my friends now...then I would have lost all meaning for life. It's my new family now that keeps me going. It's with them, that I make myself stronger every day so that I won't lose them, like I lost those people in the past. So I know, what it's like to lose a loved one. But I choose not to show it, instead I move on with my new family and the will to protect them, as they will protect me, as we all protect each other from the enemies of the past, the present, and the future. I respect your wishes King Theoden, and understand why you do not want her to fight. But you have to accept change sometimes, because that change, just might be for the better." Erza finishes as she quickly walks around Theoden and storms off.

Theoden turns his head slightly and looks down at the ground as he watches her leave out of the corner of his eyes. But instead of chasing after and saying anything else, he turns and walks in another direction.

 _That Night…_

Most of the camp has turned in for the night, while Erza, Gray, and Gajeel were fast asleep in their sleeping bags, Natsu was still wide awake. Tossing, and turning, and just trying to fall asleep; but the Fire Dragon Slayer finds himself unable too. Huffing out in anger Natsu sits up and decides to go for a little stroll, getting out from beneath his blanket as he grabs his backpack and begins to walk off. A few soldiers remain awake guarding the perimeter, keeping an eye out for signs of any danger as Natsu finds a location below a nearby rocky hill to just sit down and look out into the distance across Rohan. Sitting down and leaning against the rocky wall Natsu does just that and looks out into the vast territory of Rohan, nothing for miles is seen except for rock, grass, and dirt.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it through his nose Natsu raises his right hand and opens it, in his palm was Lucy's key carrier, the golden and silver keys of hers all still in there. "Lucy...hope you're okay. Partner." Natsu says with a saddened smile before closing his hand and placing the keys back into his backpack.

He knew Lucy was strong, there wasn't a doubt about that in his heart. Not once had he ever thought of her as weak or vulnerable, she was strong from the beginning and only ever got stronger as her time in Fairy Tail continued, just like anyone else. But...that didn't mean he wasn't worried for her. After all, her not having her Celestial Keys, not even her whip, was almost like him not having his flames. He could put up a fight without them, but if the situation got really, really dangerous, then he'd start having some issues. Luckily Wendy was there with her, and Merry, and Pippin, but still...it just...it worried him a lot that his partner, his friend, was without her keys, and whip, her main means of kicking ass and taking names. So close...they were so close to seeing them again, and then Gandalf had to appear and tell them that they just had to wait a bit longer before they could be seen again?

He trusted Gandalf, and it was really nice to see him alive, well, and kicking again, probably even more powerful than before. But still the fact that he told them that they had to head in the opposite direction, away from them when they were so close! It just didn't feel right. But at least they were safe, no longer in danger according to Gandalf. That did relieve some stress off his shoulders that she and the others were no longer prisoners, about to be tortured by Saruman for who knows what. But the remainder of the stress would not be relieved yet, not until Wendy, Merry, Pippin...and Lucy...were all back with them. Especially Lucy...cause as long as she's not next to him…

Suddenly Natsu threw his head back in anger into the wall of the hill and groaned out in annoyance "What in the hell~?!" Natsu quietly yells out.

What the hell was wrong with him?! Why in the world was his heart beating so weirdly?! And what in the world was this...weird feeling he was sensing throughout his body?! Sure, he was worried for everyone that had gotten separated. He was worried for Happy, Carla, Lily, Frodo, and Sam who were on their way to the damn land where this Sauron bastard and his whole army resided! He was worried for Wendy, Merry, and Pippin because they got captured alongside Lucy as well! And yet...Lucy...that's all he could think of was if she was okay, the feeling inside him, he knew she was safe. Gandalf said so, and if he said so then he shouldn't be worrying as much...and yet. It was like as long as Lucy wasn't beside him, right there next to him he just couldn't feel any sort of relief at all. The only way he would finally be relieved of the stress, was if she was there beside him, like always, like it always was since day one. Team Natsu, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. Then Erza, Gray, and Wendy joined...and well Gajeel was along for the ride since he got dragged into this so he guessed he was a part of the team for now, least until they get back home that is.

Truth be told, the day he saw her for the first time. There was this...sort of, well something that went off in his heart. Just something saying, bring her with you Natsu, bring her to Fairy Tail. I mean he wasn't going to forcefully drag her there and stuff, but when she told him and Happy she was actually looking to joining Fairy Tail, and then when she got kidnapped by that faked Salamander guy. Heh, stuff just happened and next thing he knew he was dragging...well more like running away with her to Fairy Tail since the Fiore military was going to catch them for what...well he did to Hargeon that day. And before he knew it, he asked her to form a team with him and Happy and, well boom Team Natsu was formed he guessed, and then the others came along and they became the strongest team in Fairy Tail...no in all of Fiore! No one could stop the might of Team Natsu! As time went on, he got used to Lucy being around and she became a part of the Fairy Tail family in no time, and a really close friend of his. Not once did that strange feeling he got that day in Hargeon re-emerge, and he honestly just forgot all about it. That is...until that day.

The Grand Magic Games, they had been frozen in time for 7 Years and now had to fight other guilds to gain back Fairy Tail's reputation as the number one guild in all of Fiore, and make people pay for all the hardships their friends went through for those seven years in his, and the others' absences. It seemed normal, some games, and fights, and Fairy Tail would, well DID, become the number one guild again...and then that night happened. Instead of a party, it was a war, the Guilds of Fiore, against some Dragons from the past. All because of something that had happened in the future, that forced Rogue of Sabertooth to go completely evil and try to change the past, which involved bringing Dragons to their present and wipe everything and everyone out to fight Acnologia and become the new Dragon King. However it wasn't just him, Lucy also arrived from the future to try and prevent that, to save him and everyone else and change it so that no one would die. In the end the Eclipse Gate that had brought the Dragons was destroyed, and everyone from the Dragons, and the Future Rogue returned to their original timelines. But Future Lucy…

She was killed...killed by Future Rogue when he attempted to kill his Lucy of the present. Just seeing what happened to Lucy, even if it wasn't the one from his timeline. To see her die there, and because of his failure to save her from his attack. It made something inside him snap, and before he knew it all he could focus on was taking down Future Rogue and avenging Future Lucy, and protecting his Lucy from him. After the battle, when his Lucy hugged him from behind, that mysterious feeling of his returned, the feeling that he still could not figure out, even now. What...what was this feeling? Every time he saw one of his friends get hurt he went insane to hurt the people that hurt them. But Lucy...when Lucy got hurt, he would just go completely berserk, and then when the future Lucy died. He just lost it and all he could think about was pummeling the shit out of Future Rogue, maybe even killing him.

Whatever the feeling was, unlike the first day he met her, it didn't disappear sometime afterwards...it still remained inside of him, and has only ever been growing since they got separated back at Amon Hen. He had managed to remain his normal self every time he was around her, but there were a few times that he just...just weird stuff happened. He would look at Lucy and all of a sudden there would just be...something different about her, even though she would look the same. Or when randomly he would just smell her scent, the perfume she was wearing even when she was right next to him and he wasn't really trying to. Heck there were even a few times where he was fighting Gray and when she told him to stop, he actually listened to her! Not like she threatened him or anything like Erza, she just asked Natsu to stop before the guild got wrecked again, or because they had a job to go on, and he would just stop and pretend like he was doing it just because he felt like it. When in reality it was because he listened to Lucy and something inside him just, well made him stop because she asked him to. And whatever this feeling was, it made him do some things back home, back before they even came to Middle-Earth, then again…that nightmare he had didn't help either...

 _Flashback…_

 _Magnolia, Fiore…_

"Fairy Tail is back in business!" Master Makarov yells out in a cheerful tone as everyone else in the guild cries out in joy as well, all of them raising their cups of whatever drinks they had into the air.

It was the first night back from the Grand Magic Games, and of course what better way to celebrate Fairy Tail's victory then...well party~! Food, drinks, brawls, everything that made Fairy Tail feel like Fairy Tail happened, and it felt good for everyone to be home again. Day turned to evening, and evening turned to night _"Huh?! What's this? Pussing out pyro head?!"_ Gray called out from inside the guild as many of its members continued to party as Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, stood/floated at the main door.

"Fuck off ice for brains we'll continue this tomorrow!" Natsu angrily yells back before turning and beginning to walk away with Lucy and Happy following behind him.

Sometime passed by as the three walked towards Lucy's apartment "Man, does it feel good to be home!" Natsu shouts cheerfully raising his arms up into the air.

"Aye!" Happy agrees.

Lucy lets out a relieved sigh "Yeah, it sure does. Alright you two! Better wake up extra early tomorrow cause we're getting back to those jobs as soon as possible!" Lucy says in a determined tone.

"Hehe, that's the spirit Lucy! Alright, I'm all fired up!" Natsu cries out into the air.

A few minutes later "Night guys." Lucy says as she closes the door to her apartment leaving Natsu and Happy outside.

"Alright pal, time to head home. Get a good night's rest like Lucy said we needed." Natsu says with his hands behind his head as he turns to Happy.

"Aye sir!" Happy yells in agreement…

 _A few hours later…_

Darkness...that was all that could be seen as voices echoed out.

" _But who is this person that interferes?" Natsu asks._

" _You...Lucy Heartfilia!" Future Rogue declares in an angered tone._

Suddenly from the darkness, Natsu appeared as his body illuminated in light. He looked to his left and saw Future Rogue release his attack, an attack that was heading right towards Lucy who stood in shock to his right. Time seemed to slow down, Natsu quickly launched himself forward reaching out to try and stop the attack...but it passed right through his grasp. Natsu looked to his right, the attack was flying right towards her. Lucy's eyes were widened in shock and terror, tears in her eyes as she didn't move _"Natsu…"_ her voice echoes out.

All of the lights suddenly turn out _"LUCY~!"_ Natsu cries out in absolute horror.

Suddenly Natsu shoots up from his hammock with a gasp of terror, out of breathe with sweat pouring down his head profusely as he looked at his surroundings...he was in his house. That's right...that's right. That didn't happen, they were all home, Grand Magic Games won, Dragons defeated, and Lucy safe and sound at her apartment. And yet...it felt...it felt so real. And that made it even more terrifying. Natsu began to catch his breath as it slowed down to a normal pace "A dream...just a dream." Natsu says to himself as he lays back down and closes his eyes to go to bed.

" _LUCY~!"_

This time Natsu rolls out of his hammock, hitting the wooden boards of his floor hard as he gets back up on his feet in a fighting stance...again, back in his home, Lucy safe and sound. Natsu was breathing in a panic again, as soon as he fell back asleep, the nightmare returned. So vivid, so...dream. All it was, was a really bad dream. And yet. At the back of his mind, it came to him that it could've happened. Had it not been for Future Lucy, his Lucy would've died and…

"NO~!" Natsu cries out in anger as he strikes his floor with his fists.

"Natsu…?" a familiar voice from above him sleepily called out.

Natsu looked up and saw Happy, in his bed looking down at him rubbing his eyes since he had just woken up, probably from Natsu slamming his fist on the ground. "Natsu? Are you alright?" he asks.

Natsu found something coming to his mind before he could reply to Happy as he then replied "Y-Yeah...just a bad dream buddy. Don't worry about it. Go back to bed. I...need to go on a walk for a bit. Be right back." Natsu says.

Grabbing his overcoat and putting it on, Natsu opened the front door and exited his and Happy's house.

 _Lucy's Apartment…_

Lucy was fast asleep in her bed, a peaceful look on her face as she breathed in and out calmly. Outside her window, Natsu crouched down on the ledge and looked at her through it _"See Natsu. She's safe and sound. Nothing to worry about because of some stupid nightmare. She's fine, and always will be as long as you're around. Just go home, and try to go to sleep. Ignore the stupid dream."_ Natsu says in his head. And yet. His heart was telling him to do something else, one which will probably end with him getting his ass kicked in the morning from his partner and friend.

Natsu quietly opened the window of her apartment up...no idea how he did that, either Lucy was really bad at forgetting to lock her stuff up, or Natsu was somehow really skilled at breaking into places which...you know what let's just get back to the story and say...I don't know. Something...ANYWAYS!

Natsu quietly opened the window of her apartment up, the breeze rushing into the room from the opened window as like a ninja in the night, Natsu leapt over Lucy's bed and landed on the floor of her apartment without making a sound. Standing and turning around, Natsu saw that she was still fast asleep even with the window open and the breeze coming in. Natsu just looked...and looked down at her peaceful...beautiful...wait beautiful? Where did that come from? When did, suddenly he noticed her start to shiver. Probably from the drop in temperature to her room since Natsu had opened the window. A blank stare remained on his face, suddenly he lifted up her covers and got into the bed next to her, and yet still she did not stir other than a low hum but she didn't awaken. Almost as soon as he got into the bed, Lucy unconsciously put her arms around Natsu, and snuggled against his chest letting out a hum of relief.

This...felt right to Natsu for some reason. Wrong in his mind, but his heart said that what he was doing was the right thing. Without a thought he wrapped his arms around Lucy's body, again it felt right, for her to be in his arms, it felt like he was protecting her. And with that nightmare of his, he needed to have that feeling right now, that she was okay like always. He closed his eyes, and dozed off.

 _Present Time…_

Natsu was now lying on the ground, looking right up at the night sky and the stars that shined. He remembered everything that happened that night, he fell asleep peacefully, and the nightmare didn't return. Bu~t. Natsu winced in pain as he remembered what happened the next morning for sure. Lucy woke up, saw that she and him were sort of cuddling, and next thing he knew was waking up to a blood curdling scream making him jump up protectively to defend Lucy, and then he found himself kicked out the window into the river. She questioned him angrily what he was doing in her bed last night in which he sort of lied since...well he didn't know what to tell her exactly?!

" _Sorry alright. I snuck into your bed last night cause of some terrible nightmare that you died in making me come over to your apartment, break in, sneak into your bed, and fall asleep cause it made me feel like I was protecting you from that nightmare!"_

Yeah...that didn't sound crazy at all or something. So, the lie he went with was that he must've slept walk or something to her apartment because he remembers passing out last night on his hammock in his house. She decided to forget about it since it saved her some trouble in having to wake him up since they could now get to work on some jobs; they met Happy at the guild who wondered where Natsu went last night in which he told him the same thing as Lucy, he bought it as well, and they went about their day doing various jobs.

But that wouldn't be the final night. The first couple of nights he tried to sleep at his house, the nightmare returned each and every time. Forcing him to break into her house again and again to protect her, each ending with the same getting kicked out and screamed at by Lucy. Through the window, the door...one time he even got sent flying through the wall...the landlady wasn't pleased with that. Each time though he played the same card, until eventually Lucy got so tired she just agreed to let him sleep in her apartment NOT IN HER BED, but in her apartment so maybe it would stop him. And it actually worked, sure he slept on the couch but his nightmares didn't return so...he would have to go with that so that way he wouldn't have to keep getting his ass kicked literally every morning.

And then eventually all of this happened, got sent to a whole new world, new mission to help destroy the One Ring, etc., etc...And now, here he was. Unable to sleep, and this feeling of his at an all-time high now for some reason. Honestly, he didn't know why he just didn't ask Lucy what this thing was he was feeling...but then she would think he's a creep, weirdo, and probably a pervert...and the last thing he needed was being called that since that was Gray's job being the whole having to strip thing and whatnot. And he didn't bring it to any of the others cause...well Gray, and Gajeel would probably make fun of him, Wendy was probably too young to know about whatever this was and it didn't seem like an illness or anything, and Erza...well he felt like she might accidentally say something to Lucy.

"Dammit...what the hell is this thing? Maybe I am sick? Eh, doesn't matter now if that's the case. Wendy ain't here to help out so guess I'm going to have to deal with this thing for a while." Natsu says.

But in the back of his mind he knew he wasn't sick.

"Dammit! What the hell is wrong with me?! What are these feelings inside of me?! Why is my heart acting all weird?! What is all of this?! What...what are these...feelings for you...Lucy?" Natsu questions himself with his hands grabbing at his hair in annoyance.

Just then, the inside of his backpack began to glow. Catching Natsu's attention as he looked over at it "What the?" he says to himself as he sits back up. Grabbing the backpack and looking inside it as he spots the item glowing and reaches inside, pulling out...the pendant he got from Galadriel?

"The pendant from Galadriel? What in the world is it doing?" Natsu wonders as he looks down at it in his palm. All of a sudden he hears a snap come from it as the glow dies down "Hm?" he hums.

He clicks the switch, and the thing opens up. Natsu is taken aback being that the thing never opened before, as if it chose to do so now all of a sudden. Okay...magic fire? Nope that wasn't it. Looking at what was inside, what Natsu saw instead was a picture. The picture showed a red dragon at the bottom, facing upwards as it breathed fire from its mouth, which then split apart and formed the shape of a heart. A golden key was in the center of it, but there was words under it. The words said

 _In this Story_

 _The Dragon_

 _PROTECTS_

 _His Princess_

"Huh?" Natsu says now really confused.

"In this story the Dragon protects his Princess? What does…" as if out of nowhere. It then came to him as he gasped and his eyes widen. A dragon? A key?

Okay, the Dragon was him obviously, but the key...was the key supposed to be Lucy? His princess? I mean it made sense since he is always wanting to protect her and stuff, especially as of late because of...but what about the shape of the pendant, a heart? Was this gift meant for Lucy instead of him? Or was it meant for him to give to Lucy? What was that word? That word involved with those crappy romance novels he never reads, but always heard about from Lucy sometimes. Let's see...when a guy and a girl liked each other, a lot more than just liked, they...they…

" _Jorved? Gorved? Zword? What the hell was that word Lucy used to say? When a guy and a girl liked each other a lot more than just friends...they…"_ Natsu says in his head.

And then...it came to him out of his mouth.

"...Loved?" YEP! That was the word alright! When a guy and a girl really, really liked each other, they loved each other...which then led to some other stuff like marriage, having kids…whoa! Okay hold on now! Was...was this what he was feeling?! Was...was he in love?! With Lucy?! His best friend?! His partner?!

That...that couldn't be it...right? That just...It didn't...Natsu's mind was on the fritz! He didn't know what the hell was going on anymore?! How the hell, did he go from not being able to sleep? To now finding out that he was in love with his friend?! Just...what?!

But...what if...what if...this really was what he was feeling for Lucy? What if that's why everything happened? From their encounter that day, to the strong surge of his feelings for her because of that night when Future Rogue killed Future Lucy, when it could've been his...Was...was he really in love with her? Those protective instincts of his, always wanting to be with her, always wanting to support her through the saddest, and toughest days of her life, always wanting to beat the hell out of those who would hurt her. Was this really it? The cause of everything? He loved her and that's why he wanted to do all of these things? Natsu looked down at the open pendant in his hand. The words, right there again for him to read.

 _In this Story_

 _The Dragon_

 _PROTECTS_

 _His Princess_

...Yes...That was why. He wanted to do all of those things for her, protect her, be with her, support her, all of these things...because he loved her, and was willing to do anything for her. Do anything, to see that smile of hers. That beautiful smile of hers that would always warm his heart up. Every time she smiled, it didn't matter what had happened, his hatred, sadness, whatever, would be cured by it. Every time she cried, he wanted to be there for her, to support her through whatever was making her cry. Every time someone caused her pain, he was going to be there to beat the living shit out of the person who caused it. There had been times that she was there for him, always making sure he was okay when motion sickness got to him, when he got captured by that Daphne lady, when he needed the boost to defeat Gajeel during the war against Phantom Lord, she had also been there for him. Like he was there for her when she needed it.

He knew some things when it came to romance and stuff related to it. Such as when people get married, it means that they are going to be together for the rest of their lives...and now that he thought about it. He couldn't see himself with anyone else. Looks like he just found out what those feelings were...he was in love with Lucy...Lucy Heartfilia. His partner, his best friend. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all…

A small, sincere smile appears as he looks down at the pendant "Lucy…" Natsu whispers.

 _Fangorn Forest…_

Lucy opens her eyes, she sits up and looks around "Natsu?" she quietly calls out.

It was late at night, Wendy slept beside her with Merry and Pippin fast asleep across from them. She looked around, but did not see Natsu anywhere...and yet...she could've sworn she heard his voice for some reason. Confused on what had just happened, Lucy decides to play it off as just her mind playing tricks on her, maybe she just missed him and the others a lot...reckon she did. But she had to wait like Gandalf said. Laying back down Lucy said in her head _"Natsu...everyone...please be okay."_

* * *

The next morning came soon, the camp packed up and the refugees continued towards Helm's Deep. It was not far now and they should arrive there soon, as they continued walking Erza took notice of Natsu's strange behavior. The entire morning she had noticed that he had not said a thing, and he seemed to be deep in thought about something, whatever it was she did not know. All she did know which made her even more concerned, was that even when Gray started calling him names he didn't retort, threaten him, or anything, he was just...silent. Even now. She looked out of the corner of her eyes at Natsu, who just looked on ahead carrying his backpack. She had asked him a few minutes ago if he was alright, he simply replied yes and that he was just thinking about something. Erza believed that he was alright, but still the fact that he was so deep into thought about whatever it was he wasn't telling her or any of the others. It kind of worried her a bit since she didn't know if it was something bad, or if there was something else going on that had him like this. She could've easily threatened him to tell her what he was thinking about, but she decided against it, deciding maybe it was something personal.

The two Rohirrim Gamling and Hama rode their horses ahead of the column, passing by Legolas who was a few feet in the lead in front of everyone as he watched them ride off to scout the area ahead. A troubled look was on his face. "Hey, you noticed Natsu's been acting weird since this morning?" Gray quietly asks Gajeel.

"Yeah. Don't know if we should be a bit worried or…" Gajeel then stopped as his attention was drawn forward.

"What is it?" Gray asks.

With his enhanced hearing, Gajeel could hear the two soldiers that rode ahead of them _"What is it? Hama?"_

" _I'm not sure."_

But...there was something else, a low growl, one that did not belong to the horses, and then the scent of two more living things that weren't human or horse. "Trouble." Gajeel says as he suddenly starts running. Natsu, Erza, and a few other people noticing this as then a scream is heard, followed by a loud growl.

"Warg!" Gamling yells out as he draws his sword.

The Warg, the giant brown haired evil breed of wolves with this one looking almost hyena-like with an Isengard Orc on it, threw the lifeless body of Hama aside after having torn his head apart in its mouth. Turns towards Gamling as then the two Riders begin to clash swords, that doesn't last long however as suddenly both Legolas and Gajeel jump down from the nearby cliff with Legolas shooting the Warg with an arrow knocking the Orc off it to the ground. The orc turns around and screeches out, Gajeel transforms his right arm into his Iron Sword and drives it through the monster's chest as Aragorn appears on the hill behind them and watches the scene unfold.

"I'm hearing a lot more trouble heading our way!" Gajeel informs Legolas.

"A scout!" Legolas calls back to Aragorn.

Hearing this a worried look comes to Aragorn's face as he turns and starts running back towards the refugees with Theoden riding to the front after hearing all the commotion "What is it? What do you see?" Theoden urgently asks.

"Warg! We're under attack!" Aragorn quickly yells back.

Hearing this sends all of the refugees into a state of panic as many of the women and children begin crying out in fear, all of the soldiers going on alert as does Natsu, Erza, and Gray. "Get them out of here!" Aragorn yells out as he runs over to Eowyn who has his horse, handling the horse off to Aragorn as he mounts it.

"All riders to the head of the column!" Theoden calls out as Gajeel rushes past him to get to his horse.

"Gray, stay with the civilians. We can't risk the possibility of there being anymore surprises waiting for them towards Helm's Deep when we're this close. Natsu, Gajeel, with me!" Erza says as quickly she, and Natsu mount their horses.

"Right!" Gray replies.

"Right behind you Erza!" Natsu says as then Gajeel mounts his horse.

"Come on, get me up here. I'm a rider." Gimli says as two Rohirrim try to help him onto his and Legolas's horse, though he almost falls right off "Come on!"

Up ahead Legolas runs onto a rock jutting out over a hill and looks out towards the opposite hillside as then more Warg Riders begin to appear over it, all of the Wargs barking out like a pack of wolves as the Orcs riding them wave their weapons around. Theoden rides up to Eowyn who almost looks like she is preparing to ride into battle herself "You must lead the people to Helm's Deep, and make haste." Theoden says.

"I can fight." Eowyn says in a determined tone.

"No!" Theoden states "...You must do this, for me." Theoden pleads.

Eowyn turns away from him as Theoden turns around as well "Follow me!" he calls out to his riders as he spurs his horse forward.

Aragorn mounts his horse and takes off followed by more Rohirrim, Natsu, Gajeel, and Erza "Forward. I mean, charge forward." Gimli says trying to make the horse go forward.

"Make for the lower ground!" Eowyn calls out to everyone as they listen to her and begin to run down the hill.

"Come on everyone! This way!" Gray also calls out signaling everyone forward as he keeps his eyes peeled for any more trouble.

"That's it! Go on!" Gimli cheers as he finally gets his horse to gallop forward.

"Stay together!" Eowyn shouts.

The refugees and remaining soldiers begin to run down the hill as the other riders' charge forward, Aragorn turns around and looks back at Eowyn who returns the stare as she looks at him as well. Aragorn then turns his horse back around and continues forward with the others as Eowyn continues to look on with a worried expression. Theoden, Aragorn, Gimli, Natsu, Erza, Gajeel, and the other Rohirrim charge up the hill, meanwhile ahead of them Legolas has an arrow pulled back and releases it. The first Warg Rider charging downhill is hit and slides to its side dead as then another Warg rider is hit. Legolas pulls back and releases another arrow, hitting another Warg rider as a distant yelp is heard as behind him the riders, also accompanied by Gamling appear, Legolas turns around, grabs onto his horse and skillfully pulls himself around its neck and onto the saddle.

The Warg riders charge forward as the Wargs continue to growl out in thirst for blood, the Rohirrim, and Aragorn draw their swords as Erza requips one into her right hand, and Gajeel transforms his right arm into his Iron Sword. The Orcs all let out a battle cry as the leader of them throws his arm forward to signal a charge, Theoden does the same thing throwing his sword forward as he and the others all let out a battle cry. The two sides close the distance and the carnage begins. One Rohirrim, and one Warg rider, their mounts collide right into each other taking them both out. Another Rohirrim throws his spear forward taking out another Warg rider, Legolas fires another arrow taking another Warg out as it front flips forward to the ground. Rohirrim, and Warg Riders are now all over the place, chasing, being chased, or charging towards each other as another Rohirrim brings his spear forward and strikes the Orc off another Warg. Elsewhere a Rohirrim and his horse go down as the Warg stops and turns around, the Rohirrim attempting to swing his sword but the Warg is much faster and pounces on him, a horse falls onto its side sending its rider flying as the Warg rider behind it leaps over the horse.

Gimli cries out as he unfortunately falls off his horse, Legolas looks back but is unable to do anything as he continues forward; another Orc flies off its Warg after being struck by a Rohirrim's spear. Gimli picks himself up and his one-sided axe, a Warg right ahead of him as it eats away at the remains of a dead horse before lifting its head up and noticing him as it growls. "Bring your pretty face to my axe." Gimli challenges as the Warg begins to charge towards him.

Gimli readies himself when Legolas returns and shoots the Warg through the side of its head, killing it as it leaps forward as Gimli cries out in anger and jumps aside to dodge the flying body before it hits the ground. "That one counts as mine!" Gimli angrily states.

Turning around, Gimli just barely dodges another Warg's attack as he as brings his axe back and with a battle cry swings it into the side of its face, killing it, but unfortunately the beast then falls on its side...right onto him. The dwarf groans out in surprise as he now finds himself stuck under the creature. The fight has now shifted as half the forces that remain still fight on their mounts, the other half after losing them run around doing whatever they can as Rohirrim, and Orcs run all over the place while Warg and Horse riders do the same. "Sorry Braveheart, gotta leave you for now buddy. You ain't no Happy so using my magic on you just doesn't cut it." Natsu says to his white horse as he then leaps off it to the ground.

"Alright now, come on who wants some?!" Natsu questions as he ignites both his fists aflame.

An orc charges at him from behind and swings its sword, Natsu ducks beneath it and turns around slamming his right fist into the creature's stomach sending it flying back face forward to the ground.

" **Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!"** Natsu yells out as he fire claws the side of a passing by Warg Rider taking both the beast and its rider out as they both fall forward to the side dead.

Another Warg comes at him from his left but Natsu quickly leaps up into the air above it as the beast follows him and looks up **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells out as he slams his fire-coated fist onto the beast's head slamming it into the ground. Aragorn cuts the head of an orc off as it passes him, Theoden cuts down another orc as a spear goes right into the side of a Warg taking it out and sending its rider flying.

A Rohirrim pulls back on his bow and releases the arrow taking out another Warg rider, he pulls another arrow out when another Warg pounces on him. Another Rohirrim cuts down another Orc rider with his spear. "Stinking creature." Gimli complains in an annoyed tone as he attempts to push it off him, when suddenly an Orc appears above it making Gimli's eyes go wide. The orc prepares its dagger to finish Gimli off, but Gimli quickly grabs its head and snaps its neck, making the Orcs body go limp and fall down right onto the Warg, adding another body to the pile as Gimli groans out annoyed once again.

"This is too easy! Guess you can do as a partner for now Hunter, least until Lily gets his ass back and everything." Gajeel says to his black horse as he turns around and seeing another Warg Rider coming at him, throws his Iron Sword out and extends it into the Warg taking it out and sending the rider flying. A lone Warg attempts to charge him from his left side, but Gajeel hearing and seeing it coming quickly transforms his left arm into a sword and as it pounces he drives the sword into the Warg and throws it over him onto the other side.

Erza blocks the sword of the Warg rider before bringing her sword back and driving it through the orc taking it out as the Warg runs off. She quickly turns to her left and summoning another sword into her hand cuts down another Orc on the ground as it attempts to attack her from her open side. Just then a Warg charges up from in front of her horse and leaps up over its head, pouncing onto Erza and knocking her to the ground. Erza turns around and quickly picks herself up as the Warg turns around and charges towards her, Erza readies her blades and then as it pounces again she dives to her right and holds her swords out, cutting across the Warg's side as it flies past her and hits the ground.

" **Requip!"** Erza yells out as she hits the ground and slides to a halt. Changing into her Flight Armor she readies her two blades and disappears in the blink of an eye. A flash of light begins traveling throughout the battlefield at an immense speed, that light being Erza thanks to this armor granting her increased speed as she uses it to cut down a few more Wargs, and Orcs even saving a few Rohirrim from death because of it. Theoden blocks an orc on the ground's sword and cuts it down, he turns to his left and watches as a Warg charges him. He attempts to counter it but is unable to in time as it leaps at him, suddenly the flash of light appears kicking the Warg away as it then dies down revealing Erza to Theoden's shock at seeing what just happened. The Warg flies away and over the cliffside. Theoden looks at Erza who looks back at him, Theoden nodding his head in gratitude as Erza nods back in response. Theoden turns and rides away as Erza turns and blocks an Orc's sword with one of hers and then drives the other into its chest.

Another Rohirrim cuts across an Orc's chest, his horse turns as a Warg rider appears with the Warg rearing back allowing the Rohirrim to cut down its stomach. Gimli is still unfortunately stuck beneath the two dead bodies piled on top of him, groaning out as he continues to try and push them off. When suddenly another Warg appears right above them and growls lowly, Gimli opens his eyes and sees the Warg, this time his eyes widening in pure shock with an expression that just says _uh oh_. Erza cuts down another Warg and turns, her eyes then coming upon the Warg above Gimli as she quickly acts.

" **Requip!"** Erza yells as she transforms into her Giant Armor, her lance appearing in her right hand as she lifts her arm and pulls it back with the spear held forward. With a battle cry Erza throws her arm forward, and sends the lance flying at an immense speed through the air, many Rohirrim, and Orcs stop their fighting as they see the weapon fly through the air at an impossible rate of speed, Aragorn and an Orc clash swords when the spear passes below their weapons catching their attention as they look at it fly. Natsu and an Orc face each other when suddenly the Orc cries out in terror and ducks down, making Natsu hum confused what made it do that as he turns around, and cries out in terror throwing his body backwards, the lance just barely missing his face as he then falls down onto his back.

The Warg roars at Gimli when suddenly the lance impacts right into the beast's side and sends it flying, right into an Orc saving a downed Rohirrim's life as the two fly off and over the cliff. Gimli lets out a sigh of relief, glad that the Warg was sent flying away from him and not crashing down onto him. When suddenly a Warg attempts to jump over the body pile but is shot dead by an arrow making it fall down right onto the pile adding even more weight to crush Gimli down as he lets out a bigger groan "Oh come on are you kidding me?!" Gimli angrily and annoyingly shouts.

Natsu cries out in terror, his face in a state of shock "I almost just lost my head right there! How am I supposed to talk to Lucy without a head?!". Just then the Orc from before appears standing over him, snapping Natsu back to reality as he hums out "Oh."

The Orc brings up his sword **"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"** only to be blasted by a large breath of fire from Natsu's mouth.

Theoden blocks an Orc's sword a few times before stabbing it in the stomach and pulling his sword out as it falls over off its Warg dead. This time Theoden turns around throwing his sword outwards as a Warg appears with its mouth open, the sword going right into it as the Warg still growls out and attempts to get to him. Aragorn rides up to another Warg rider as the two exchange sword blows a few times before Aragorn finally slashes it across the chest and then stabs it making the creature cry out before he pulls his sword out and it falls off its mount. As Aragorn turns a Warg leaps up and knocks him off his horse. Aragorn recovers as he turns around on his feet and hands, to see another Warg rider coming at him, this one being the lead Orc from before as he readies himself and then manages to grab onto the Warg and pull himself onto its back behind the orc leader.

The orc turns but is headbutted by Aragorn, the Orc recovers and turning around punches Aragorn across the face, knocking him off as Aragorn manages to grab onto the straps of the saddle to keep himself from falling all the way off but is still rubbing and bouncing up and down against the ground. The orc screeches at him as Aragorn pulls out his elven dagger, the orc tries kicking him off as Aragorn attempts to pull himself back up. As the Orc throws another kick Aragorn this time launches himself upwards and drives the dagger into the Orc's chest making it cry out in pain. The orc however holds his hand in place and then grabs something at his chest, Aragorn pulls the orc sending it off its Warg as the Warg continues galloping forward. Aragorn then notices that his hands have become entangled in the straps of the Warg's harness as he works at trying to free himself, he looks behind him and spots that the Warg is running right towards the edge of the cliff, he continues with as much haste as he can to free himself...but is too late. The Warg trips forward and goes sliding off the edge of the cliff, with Aragorn.

One Warg is on its side in pain, Gimli appears beside it and brings his axe down putting an end to the beast. Pulling his axe out he grunts in an annoyed tone and looks up at the scene before him. The battle is winding down, the Rohirrim in victory as all that remains now is taking care of any wounded orcs, and Wargs, and driving off the remaining riders as the Warg riders that remain begin to retreat. Theoden who is on the ground begins to look around, while they are victorious, there are many dead Rohirrim, and many more that are wounded. Erza, requipped back into her normal armor walks towards Natsu as he runs up to her "Hey! Erza! I recognize that lance of yours from anywhere! You almost took my head off you know that!" Natsu angrily yells, while at the same time still in terror from that lance coming so close to taking his head off.

"I did? My apologies for that almost happening." Erza calmly replies with only a slightly surprised look on her face.

"Hey, hey now. What's this? I'm the only one that managed to stay on my horse and kick ass this entire time? I'm disappointed in you two." Gajeel sarcastically remarks with a grin as he has the reins of Natsu, and Erza's horses.

Erza takes her brown horses rein "Glad to see you are okay, Equinox." Erza says as she strokes the horse's head.

Natsu takes the reins of his horse "Yeah well unlike your magic metal head, my magic doesn't work so well from the back of a horse. Still, beats having to walk places at least but fighting. Not so well." Natsu says.

"Aragorn!" Legolas calls out, catching Team Natsu's attention as they look to see him walking around, looking for Aragorn.

The three then took notice themselves, Aragorn was nowhere in sight, as does Gimli "Aragorn?!" Gimli calls out.

"Hey! Aragorn!" Natsu calls out.

"Aragorn?!" Erza calls out as well.

"Yo, Aragorn!" Gajeel calls out.

No response…

Theoden noticing this also begins looking around in a panicked state. Legolas approaches the edge of a cliff and kneels down, when suddenly someone begins laughing behind him. Standing up and turning around, he spots the Orc leader of the Warg riders as he lies on the ground, dying as black blood trickled out from the side of his mouth and yet he continued to laugh gargling on his own blood. Legolas, Gimli, Natsu, Erza, and Gajeel approach the Orc as Gimli holds his axe over him "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing." he states.

"He's…" the orc coughs "...dead." he laughs more "He took a little tumble off the cliff." the orc finishes only to continue laughing. Theoden who has arrived behind them looks at the edge of the cliff and begins to walk over as Natsu, and Erza clench their teeth in anger.

Legolas grabs and lifts him up a bit by his armor "You lie." he says in an angered tone.

The orc leader laughs out one last time before he finally dies. Legolas tossing him back to the ground. Just then, he notices something in the Orc's hand and grabs it, revealing it to be Aragorn's Evenstar, his necklace that was given to him by Arwen the elf women from Rivendell who he loved.

"It...It's Aragorn's. I can smell his scent on it." Natsu says in shock. Realization dawns upon Legolas that the orc was telling the truth. Quickly he, Natsu, Erza, Gajeel, and Gimli walk over to the edge of the cliff where Theoden stands. They look down, and see nothing below but sharp rocks against the side of the cliff, and a raging river.

Theoden turns around and looks at Gamling as he approached them standing a few feet away "Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return." Theoden sheaths his sword away "Leave the dead." he finishes.

Legolas turns towards Theoden, an angered look in his eyes that they were just going to abandon and not even look to see if Aragorn survived. Natsu, and Erza looked towards him as well with anger in their eyes as well, Natsu clenching his teeth while Erza just had a stern look.

"Come." is all Theoden says as he turns and walks away. Leaving the five there as they continue to look over the edge at the water below.

* * *

 **Author's Portion:**

 **AAAAAAAAAAAAND THERE WE GO! PHEW MAN THAT WAS A REALLY INTERESTING CHAPTER TO WRITE! Not even a joke, spent like three hours last night on that Natsu scene alone, replaying it again over and over in my head to made sure it sounded right, like that's how it would happen and everything and man do I hope I did it right to the way you guys like it?!**

 **Don't forget, this is the first time I've ever written a story that involved Romance and that stuff and...well I myself have never had any experience with it cause...well. Let's just say I'm one of those people who have that awkward/nervous shell around them when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex and stuff and...well yeah I hope you understand what I mean and everything...hehe...So I tried just going off of the kinds of stuff I've seen from other NaLu stories around the fic, and just went with what I wrote. I hope it feels right and everything, I apologize if it doesn't and just hope that if I do anymore Fairy Tail crossovers in the future and pair Natsu and Lucy together I can get them right in that romance stuff.**

 **Soooo yeah. That's really all I have to say right now. Hope you guys like the chapter, continue to like the rest of the story. And that's right, the Battle of Helm's Deep is coming up! So let's see what happens when Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel join the Rohirrim and Elves in the fight against 10,000 Uruk-hai! And what about the Exceeds with Faramir and his Rangers? And Lucy, and Wendy with the Ents? Well, we'll just have to wait and see. And don't worry I plan on finishing off the remainder of the Second Film even if it means going over my schedule a bit so that way there isn't too much of a cliffhanger stuff. Buuuut don't forget that as soon as I'm done with the second film I'm going to have to take a break and get to work on my other Fanfiction stories for a bit before coming back and finishing this amazing story off. So until then, this is So-Pro Warrior until next time!**

 **Q &A…**

To **Taromaru:** Haha, I know, I saw the recent Magna and was like...wow. Did not see that coming XD, especially when it coincides in a way with that chapter. Exactly! The way I have the story is the way I want it to be, because that's how I envisioned it. And if you don't agree with my way then, oh well. That's how I see it. The battles too, I mean for crying out loud I feel like I could've used the post One year timeskip Fairy Tail members in which at that point they're just beyond OP for this world and I feel like WM still would've complained about it. Hahaha, I lost it when you put HOWEVER in all caps and was just like "Oh boy, here we go. Shit bout to go down XD" but yeah seriously. And I've seen the Fanfics out there where people write about Lucy leaving the Guild or being betrayed by Natsu and forced to leave cause Lisanna this and that, I never read them, just the summaries and was just like...WHAT?! How...what?! That would never happen in a million years! I understand that there are people who ship Natsu and Lisanna, but damn don't need to be so mean to Lucy and that stuff like what the heck? But glad you're enjoying the story so far Taromaru, and hope you like this chapter as well.

To **Mew Sakura the Cyniclon:** Yes I did pick that up from your story, hope you don't mind. But when I read that I felt that, well yeah that would actually happen for real. Gandalf whacking Natsu with his staff like Erza would punch him because he makes some "minor" idiotic choices XD.

To **Perseus12:** Huzzah!

To **Mataras:** Yeah I'm basing them off the movies. If they were based off the books they would take a lot more longer to write, and I'm not much for reading books...ironic I know cause I can read Fanfiction stories but. I guess I just find them more interesting and stuff.

To **:** Maybe...maybe. Just maybe… (looks away and pretends like he don't know anything)


	11. Preparing for Battle

The column of refugees continued walking, safe from the danger of the Warg riders as then suddenly they spotted something off in the distance that raised their spirits in joy "At last!"

"Helm's Deep."

"There it is, Helm's Deep."

"We're safe!" various people cry out as the refugees' pace quickens to try and reach their fortress that would finally provide them safety. Eowyn, and Gray walked together and stopped in their tracks as they looked off in the distance, the fortress of Helm's Deep, a stronghold that was located in a valley at the base of a hill leaving it surrounded from all sides except for the wide valley entrance that led to the place. A long causeway could be seen leading up to its main gates, a great tower stood tall in the back of the stronghold, and to the side a long wall that stood several meters high, the entire place made out of stone and looked to be connected into the mountain itself.

Gray whistles "Not a bad place." he says with his hands to his hips.

"We're safe my lady. Thank you." an elderly woman happily says as she comes up to Eowyn, grabbing her hands as Eowyn walks with her to help her out.

"Man, and here I am probably missing out on all the fun back there." Gray says as he continues forward.

 _Helm's Deep…_

The massive gate is opened up by two Rohirrim in front of it, the doors open up to reveal more Rohirrim, and more refugees that seemed to have arrived to the place long before Eowyn, Gray, and the others did. Needless to say however, as they walked in Eowyn, and Gray looked to the left and right, the place was completely crowded as soldiers and refugees packed up together standing or sitting against the walls to try and make room for people to walk through. When it came to the rest of the place, there was the outer wall that stood high above the gate, stairs to the left past the gate that led up to the inner courtyard with an inner wall surrounding that place as well, and then some more steps that led to the insides of the fortress, on either sides of those steps were statues, one mostly destroyed on the left, and the other intact of an unknown figure. As for the wall that ran along the side of the fortress, the reason for that was to defend a massive open area behind it where more refugees could be seen, a small stream of water going through the middle of it which was filtered in an out by a culvert at the base of the wall. As refugees walked all over the place along with some soldiers, on the walls were even more Rohirrim who kept their watchful eyes out for signs of anymore refugees, or danger.

"Mamma!" the little girl from before cries out as her and her brother run towards their mother, who they thought was dead when their village was burned down.

"Eothien! Freda!" the mother of the two cries out in joy to see them safe and sound, going on her knees as the family hugs each other, happy to be reunited again.

On the outer wall against the mountain, Eowyn placed down a basket off food as she and Gray tried to help find out, and organize the food supplies that the entire fortress had "Where is the rest?" she questions.

"This is all we could save my lady." an elderly man replies as Eowyn and Gray look around. Not seeing a very whole lot other than bread and water.

Gray groans in a worried tone, he could tell that there was not a lot of food here to go around. Especially since it was unknown how long they were going to have to stay here and hold out when Saruman decided he was going to attack. "Take it to the caves." Eowyn says.

" _Make way for the king!"_ a voice calls out catching everyone's attention.

"Sounds like they're back." Gray says as he begins to walk, Eowyn running however to see her uncle, Aragorn, and the others again.

"Make way for Theoden! Make way for the king!" the same voice continues to call out as the remaining Rohirrim riders that survived the skirmish begin to ride their horses up the stairs and to the courtyard. Gray walks across the narrow, small bridge that connected the outer wall to the courtyard while Eowyn ran ahead of him, the two arriving as a crowd began to gather at the stairs and around Theoden and the others who were dismounting their horses.

"So few. So few of you have returned." Eowyn says noticing their shortage in numbers then when they originally rode out.

Theoden looks at her and doesn't say a word about it, looking away and then looking back at her "Our people are safe...We have paid for it with many lives." Theoden finishes as he walks back and helps Gamling off his horse.

"Good to see all of you made it. Especially you flame-head, can't go leaving me now otherwise I'm just going to be stuck with this metal for brains." Gray humorously says as he points at Gajeel with his right thumb. Dismounting their horses, the three look at him, their faces saying something bad as Gray notices this "H-Hey. What's with the long faces?" Gray asks.

"My lady." Gimli says from behind Gray as he turns around and sees him approach Eowyn.

Eowyn turns and looks at him, seeing the saddened expression on his face that Gray noticed was just like Natsu and the others as he decides to listen in "Lord Aragorn...where is he?" Eowyn asks.

Gimli moves his lips but doesn't say anything, finding it hard for him to even say what happened but knowing he had to say it "He fell…" he finally says.

Eowyn's eyes go wide in shock hearing this, as does Gray's as he gasps upon hearing this as he turns back to his friends, Natsu, and Gajeel turn and leave without saying a word. Gray looks at Erza as she nods her head solemnly to confirm what Gimli said, Gray now finds himself at a loss for words as he lowers his head in sadness, just finding it hard to believe that out of everyone...Aragorn was gone? Eowyn looks at her uncle, Theoden seems to sense this as he turns and looks at her, the two look at each other for a few seconds as sadness comes across his face before he lowers it and turns away continuing up the stairs. Eowyn herself is now in a state of shock as she turns away and sits down on a closed hamper.

At the end of the Deepening Wall sometime later "Draw all our forces behind the wall. Bar the gate. And set a watch on the surround." Theoden orders as his voice echoes out. He then turns and begins to leave with Gamling and a few other soldiers trailing him.

"What of those who cannot fight my lord? The women and children?" Gamling asks.

"Get them into the caves." Theoden replies.

The king and his men then walk down the stairs leading down to the back area known as The Deep "Saruman's arm will have grown long indeed if he thinks he can reach us here." Theoden says as he and his men begin to walk through the area.

" _Helm's Deep has one weakness. Its outer wall is solid rock, but for a small culvert at its base. Which is little more than a drain…" Grima says._

 _Isengard…_

 _Orthanc…_

Saruman pours a glass bottle full of small little black rocks into a big, circular, spiked container "How? How can fire undo stone? What kind of device could bring down the wall?" Grima questions Saruman as he holds a candle holder with a lit candle stuck on top and approaches the strange container. Before he can get closer with the fire however Saruman turns and quickly grabs his hand, keeping and pushing it away from the container.

He then walks by in front of him "If the wall is breached, Helm's Deep will fall." Saruman says as Grima turns and begins to follow him.

"Even if it is breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to storm the Keep." Grima says.

"Tens of thousands." Saruman calmly replies.

"But my lord there is no such force." Grima says as he follows him out onto his balcony. When suddenly a loud horn blares and echoes out into the air as Grima now finds himself looking out into an endless sea of dark, heavily armored, and armed Uruk-hai at the feet of the tower. Flags bearing the White Hand, and thousands of pikes reach up into the air as all of the Uruk-hai repeatedly slam their pikes down on the ground while chanting out, Grima just seeing what he was, his face turned into complete, and utter shock as then Saruman raised his hand slightly, making all of the Uruk-hai stop.

"A new power is rising. Its victory, is at hand…" Saruman says as his voice booms out for all of the Uruk-hai to hear, all of them begin chanting again and slamming their pikes up and down on the ground before Saruman raises his hand again making them stop. "This night...the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan! March to Helm's Deep! Leave none alive! To war~!" Saruman yells out raising his hands and staff into the air making the Uruk-hai roar out in acknowledgement.

A single tear drop actually rolls down Grima's left cheek, it looked like he was actually feeling sorry now for Theoden and his people, Saruman however did not show any signs of sorrow for his enemies as his face remained cold, and stern. "There will be no dawn, for Men. And no one, not even these...mages. Can do anything to stop it." Saruman says. And like that the army of Uruk-hai were off, marching in a rhythmic beat with their armor clinking and clacking with each step they took as the Uruks with pikes held them by their side with the weapons reaching high above them.

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Nearby in Fangorn…_

Treebeard is seen walking over a tall rocky hill, one that could be used to overlook Isengard itself if just at a higher elevation as there were trees at Treebeard's level that kept him from seeing the place more clearly. "Look, there's smoke to the south." Pippin speaks up noticing the rising pillars of dark smoke going into the air.

"There is always smoke rising...from Isengard these days." Treebeard says catching Merry's attention.

"Isengard?" he says, as he suddenly begins to climb higher onto Treebeard to try and get a view of the place. Lucy, Wendy, and Pippin following in suite as Treebeard continues to talk "There was a time...when Saruman would walk in my woods. But now, he has a mind of metal...and wheels. He no longer cares for growing things."

Reaching Treebeard's top, the four are just able to see over the top of the trees as they see a black mass of movement heading out away from Isengard, horns blare off in the distance "What is it?" Pippin asks.

"...It's Saruman's army. The war has started." Merry says in shock at what he sees.

"There-There's so many of them…" Wendy says in a terrified tone.

A worried look comes to Lucy's face "Natsu...everyone…" she says now really worried for their friends' safety.

 _Somewhere in the region Ithilien…_

A map of Middle-Earth is unfolded onto a box "What news?" the man known as Faramir, Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, the group that had captured Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds, asks his second-in-command Madril.

The two sat around a box in a cave surrounded by barrels, candles, and food supplies as behind them in a tunnel their Ithilien Rangers were at work or standing around talking "Our scouts report Saruman has attacked Rohan. Theoden's people have fled to Helm's Deep." Madril informs him while pointing at Rohan on the map and then sliding his finger over to Helm's Deep.

"But we must look to our own borders. Faramir, Orcs are on the move. Sauron is marshaling an army." Madril continues while drawing a line with his finger along the border between a place called Osgiliath, and Mordor. "Easterlings and Southrons are at the Black Gate."

"How many?" Faramir asks.

"Some thousands. More come every day." Madril replies.

"Who's covering the river to the north?" Faramir asks pointing to a location on the map.

"We pulled 500 men at Osgiliath. If the city is attacked, we won't hold it." Madril replies tapping at Osgiliath.

Faramir looks at Madril with a worried look, looking back at the map "Saruman attacks from Isengard." he says pointing at Isengard. "Sauron from Mordor." he says while hovering his finger and tapping it on Mordor.

"The fight will come to Men on both fronts...Gondor is weak. Sauron will strike us soon. And he will strike hard. He knows now we do not have the strength to repel him." Faramir says.

Somewhere else in the system of caves, Frodo's blindfold is removed followed by his bindings, same goes for Sam beside him on his left, and to his right the ropes around Happy, Carla, and Lily are untied and taken off them as well as their blindfolds. The five now seeing that they are in a cave, one that seems to be hidden behind a waterfall as all around them are the hooded soldiers that captured them doing a variety of tasks.

Faramir appears from a tunnel in front of them and walks up "My men tell me that you are Orc spies." Faramir says stopping.

"Spies? Now wait just a minute." Sam says a bit angered by that statement.

"Do we look like people who would work for Sauron?" Carla questions with her paws to her hips.

"Well if you're not spies then who are you?" Faramir asks. Only for none of them to answer as Sam and Frodo look at each other, the Exceeds looking at each other as well since they did not know if they should tell the truth or not.

Faramir sits down on a box with his eyes still on them "Speak." he says.

They look back at him "We are Hobbits of the Shire. Frodo Baggins is my name, and this is Samwise Gamgee." Frodo says.

"Your bodyguard?" Faramir questions.

"His gardner." Sam corrects.

"And what of you three?" Faramir questions looking at the Exceeds.

"We are from a race known as Exceeds. The three of us have come here from a land far away from Middle-Earth on personal business. My name is Carla, and this is Happy, and Lily." Carla says seeing as Frodo was telling the truth. Of course keeping out the facts though that they were from another world, and they were transported here on a request to help destroy the One Ring.

"And what business would that be exactly?" Faramir questions.

"A job. The three of us came here with six humans, our friends and partners on a request sent to us from someone in Middle-Earth. Simply asking for help in fighting this war against Sauron and his forces." Lily answers.

"So you are mercenaries?" Faramir asks.

"No, we're from a guild of ma-" but before Happy can finish his sentence both Carla and Lily cover his mouth before he can say mages "From a guild of… "special" warriors." Carla quickly says.

"Not mercenaries. Just people who want to help others out when they need it." Lily says.

Faramir narrows his eyes at them, not sure of what to believe or not since they were after all talking, flying cats. "And where is your skulking friend? That gangrel creature. He had an ill-favored look." Faramir asks looking back at Frodo.

"...There was no other…" Frodo says.

"We set out from Rivendell with thirteen companions." Faramir looks at Frodo as hearing this seems to catch his attention. "One we lost in Moria...two were my kind...six of them were the friends and partners my Exceed friends speak of. Three young men, two young women, and a little girl...a Dwarf there was also. And an Elf and Two Men. Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and Boromir of Gondor." Frodo finishes.

Just then, the group take notice of Faramir freezing up for a bit upon hearing Boromir's name. Faramir then asks "You're a friend of Boromir?"

Frodo is a bit unsure of how to answer that, after all considering what had happened at Amon Hen when the Ring possessed and took control of his mind to attack him. But nevertheless "Yes...For my part." he replies.

Faramir stands up, turning and walking a few paces before turning back towards them "It will grieve you then to learn that he is dead." Faramir says.

Hearing this brings shocked looks onto Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds faces as the three Exceeds look at one another while Sam looks at Frodo, none of them couldn't believe what they heard. "Dead? How? When?" Frodo quickly asks.

"As one of his companions I'd hoped you would tell me." Faramir says.

"If something has happened to Boromir, we would have you tell us." Frodo says.

"I wish we had the information to tell you. But there is a reason we are not with our companions anymore." Carla says.

"We got split up from the rest of our group when we were attacked by Saruman's forces. The five of us escaped across a river to the other side while our friends held them off. Anything that happened during the skirmish...we do not know about." Lily says.

"...His horn washed up upon the riverbank, about six days past. It was cloven in two...But more than this, I know it in my heart...He was my brother." Faramir explains.

* * *

Frodo, Sam, Happy, Carla, and Lily were fast asleep as night had fallen. Hearing that Boromir had died shocked them, and hearing that Faramir was his young brother was also quite shocking to hear as Boromir had never mentioned anything before about him. Then again it's not like they had asked him if he had any family. After grieving for their fallen friend the group went to sleep.

Just then Frodo found himself being awakened as he opened his eyes and saw Faramir approach him with two Ithilien Rangers behind him "You must come with me, now." he says. Frodo listens as he picks himself up, Sam, and the Exceeds still fast asleep however.

Frodo is taken outside their hideout where he is led to a ledge to the side of the waterfall, Faramir steps up to the edge as Frodo stays back. Faramir looks down and seems to spot something as he looks back at Frodo "Down there." he says while pointing down below.

Frodo is a bit concerned by what he is talking about as he slowly begins to approach the edge of the ledge. Peeking over it, he spots Smeagol. On a rock just as he dives into the pool at the base of the waterfall, most likely after a fish. "To enter the Forbidden Pool bears the penalty of death." Faramir says to Frodo, looking over to his right as Frodo follows his gaze and gasps quietly in shock and fear as two Ithilien Rangers emerge out from behind a bush, their bows and arrows at the ready to shoot Gollum.

Faramir looks to his left as Frodo looks behind him to see two more Rangers with their arrows pulled back on their bows "They wait for my command. Shall I shoot?" Faramir says.

Frodo's breathing picks up rapidly but still quiet, after all, he did tell Faramir that there was not another person with them and now Gollum was just right there below about to be shot. He was their only means of getting into Mordor to destroy the Ring but if he was shot dead then he, Sam, and the others would be back to square one of how to get into Mordor. Not only that, he wanted to help Gollum seeing what had happened to him because of the Ring and feeling sorry for him.

Gollum leaps back out of the pool with a fish in hand as he hunched down and began to beat it dead slowly on the rock while singing _"The rock and pool. Is nice and cool. So juicy swee~t…"_

Faramir raised his right hand up, giving his men the signal to prepare to fire _"Our only wish. To catch a fish. So juicy swee~t."_ Frodo continued to look on, questioning himself what to do. Gollum was about to eat the fish when it wiggled again to life in his hand and nearly jumped back into the water, Gollum catching it as he beat it on the rock again.

"Wait." Frodo says just as Faramir is about to give the signal.

"This creature is bound to me. And I to him." Frodo looked up to Faramir who looked back down at him "He is our guide...Please...let me go down to him." Frodo asks. Faramir continues to look down at Frodo as he nods his head, Frodo turns and quickly begins to run down to him.

Gollum begins to eat the fish as Frodo quietly appears behind him "Smeagol. Master is here." Frodo calls out making Gollum turn around.

"Come Smeagol." Frodo says, though Gollum looks at him with an unsure look on his face. "Trust master. Come." Gollum turns his head slightly "We must...go now?" he asks.

"Smeagol, you must trust master. Follow me. Come on." Frodo pleads again "Come." he says waving his arm back as Gollum puts the fish in his mouth and begins to walk towards him.

Frodo began to back up into the narrow pathway behind him, Gollum walking towards him with a frightened look on his face "Come Smeagol. Nice Smeagol, that's it. Come on." Frodo calls to him as Gollum seems to trust him and begins walking towards him at a quicker pace. Suddenly stopping as the sound of a bush moving to his right catches his attention.

Suddenly an Ithilien Ranger grabs his throat making Gollum cry out in terror as more Rangers appear with their bows and arrows pointed at him "Don't hurt him!" Frodo cries out.

Another Ranger appears behind Gollum as the other struggles to keep his hold on him "Smeagol don't struggle. Smeagol listen to me!" Frodo cries out.

"Master!" Gollum cries, a look of hurt on his face before a bag is placed over his head. Frodo looks on, a pained look that he had just betrayed Smeagol like that even if he didn't want to as the two Rangers begin to drag him away. Gollum crying under the bag as Frodo looks up, Faramir looking down at him with a serious look in his eyes before turning and walking away.

 _Sometime Later…_

Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds who had waken up found themselves detained in a part of a cave surrounded by barrels and boxes, they had heard Gollum's screams echoing out from wherever he was and knew that most likely he was going to spill their secret soon. "We have to get out of here. You go, go now." Sam quietly urges Frodo.

Frodo looks over as Sam gets on his hands and crawls over to him sitting on his knees "You can do it. Use the Ring Mr. Frodo. Just this once. Put it on...Disappear." Sam says as the Exceeds quietly watch the two.

Frodo shakes his head "I can't. You were right Sam. You tried to tell me but...I'm sorry." Frodo says.

Sam looks at his best friend with a saddened look in his eyes as Frodo looks away from him "The Ring's taking me Sam. If I put it on...he'll find me. He'll see."

"Mr. Frodo…" Sam says feeling sorry for him, when footsteps approaching catch his, Frodo, and the Exceeds attention.

Faramir appears before them, before suddenly pulling out his sword making the five get up onto their feet.

"Hey, hey." Lily says.

"What are you doing?" Happy asks worryingly.

"So this is the answer to all the riddles." Faramir begins as he points his sword towards Frodo and begins walking towards him, making Frodo back up slowly "Here in the Wild I have you...two halflings...three talking cats...and a host of men at my call." Frodo finds himself back up against the wall with the sword near his throat.

"The Ring of Power within my grasp." Faramir finishes.

Carla grunts in anger _"Knew that slime ball Gollum would crack soon."_ she says in her head angrily.

Faramir puts his sword tip through the necklace and uses it to pull the Ring out from beneath Frodo's clothing, allowing him to get a good look at the small, golden Ring. As much as Sam, or Lily, and Happy want to do something to stop Faramir, they knew he was right on the fact he had a large group of soldiers that could easily overwhelm them if they tried anything.

"A chance for Faramir, captain of Gondor...to show his quality." Faramir says as he continues to gaze down at the One Ring. Suddenly Frodo begins to go into a trance, his eyes closing as Faramir continues to just stare, and stare at the Ring. Until suddenly "NO~!" Frodo cries out as his eyes shoot open, somehow breaking out from the trance as he pushes the sword and runs away.

Seemingly knocking Faramir out of his gazing trance as well as Frodo runs into the wall behind Sam for safety, Sam and the Exceeds stepping in front of him in a protective manner "Stop it!" Sam angrily yells.

"Leave him alone. Don't you understand? He's going to destroy it! That's where we're going, into Mordor. To the Mountain of Fire!" Sam finally says towards Faramir.

Suddenly an Ithilien Ranger comes up from behind Faramir and catches his attention "Osgiliath is under attack. They call for reinforcements." the Ranger informs.

"Please. It's such a burden...Will you not help him?" Sam asks in a pleading tone.

"Captain?" the Ranger asks wondering what to do.

Faramir turns his head towards him "Prepare to leave." Faramir answers as the Ranger takes his leave, Faramir looks back at Sam who waits for his answer.

"The Ring will go to Gondor." Faramir says, hearing this shocks Sam and the Exceeds.

"Are you insane?!" Lily questions him.

"Did you not just hear Sam what our mission is? We have to destroy it!" Happy says.

"If you bring it back to your city you risk Sauron re-taking it and putting all of Middle-Earth at stake! Is that what you want?!" Carla questions him. But Faramir does not say a thing as he turns and walks away.

 _Helm's Deep…_

A lone rider goes up the causeway towards the gate and enters the fortress, a man that looked battered and bruised, but okay...okay for someone who was thought dead as Aragorn rode up the stairs to the courtyard. All of the refugees who knew him looking on in shock and awe as Aragorn rode his new horse, Brego, a brown horse with a white mark on his head that Aragorn had released back into the wild back at Edoras, the horse had apparently come to him when he washed ashore down the stream and brought Aragorn to Helm's Deep, though not before Aragorn saw something that he needed to tell to the king.

"He's alive!" a woman's voice called out as a group of soldiers and refugees gathered around him as he dismounted his horse.

"Where is he? Where is he? Get out of the way! I'm going to kill him!" Gimli's voice angrily yelled out from the crowd as the Dwarf pushes his way through people until he finally saw Aragorn before him, a joyous look on his face.

"You are...the luckiest, the canniest...and the most reckless man I ever knew." Gimli then walks up and hugs Aragorn who hugs him back "Bless you laddie." Gimli says.

"Gimli, where is the king?" Aragorn asks as Gimli pulls away, Gimli looks towards his right directing Aragorn to where he was. Aragorn pats his friend's shoulder before turning and running up the stairs, when suddenly some more familiar friendly faces show up.

"I thought I smelled a familiar scent coming from a mile away." Natsu says with a toothy grin as he appears in front of Aragorn, soon the rest of the Fairy Tail mages appearing as well behind him.

Erza walks up to Aragorn and gives him a hug which Aragorn returns before she pulls away "It's good to see you alive Aragorn." Erza says.

"And here I was thinking Natsu's nose was on the fritz. Glad I turned out to be wrong for once." Gray says.

"Gihi, knew some stupid mutt couldn't take you down." Gajeel says.

"Still looks like you took a beating though. Wish Wendy was here so she could heal you." Erza says.

"I will have time to care for my wounds later. I must speak to Theoden, it's urgent." Aragorn says, the Fairy Tail mages understand and move aside as he walks past them. Though he does not get far once again as Legolas already stands in between him and the door to the Keep _"You're late."_ Legolas humorously says in elvish.

He then takes notice of his beaten up clothes and body "You look terrible." Legolas adds.

Aragorn smiles at him "So I've heard." he says before letting out a chuckle.

Aragorn puts his hand on his shoulder as Legolas then lifts his hand up, and shows Arwen's Evenstar to him. Aragorn looks down at it and takes it back _"Thank you."_ he whispers.

Inside the main hall of the Keep, Theoden sits at his throne chair, Gamling, and another Rohirrim commander turn to the door as they hear it open up, and see Aragorn enter.

"A great host you say." Theoden says with his back turned away from the others. In the room were Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and some of the Rohirrim commanders to hear what Aragorn had to report. Which had to do with Saruman's army that was now on its way to Helm's Deep.

"All Isengard is emptied." Aragorn says.

"How many?" Theoden asks.

"Ten thousand strong at least." Aragorn reports.

Hearing this makes Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel grunt/gasp in shock as they, along with all the others also become shocked upon hearing this. Even Theoden as he turns around "Ten thousand?"

"It is an army bred for a single purpose...To destroy the world of Men...They will be here by nightfall." Aragorn finishes.

Theoden moves his eyes from side to side, a worried look on his face as he suddenly turns around and begins walking away "Let them come!" he declares in a unaverred tone.

 _Outside…_

"Ten thousand?" Gray questions aloud again.

"What's wrong strip head? Scared of ten thousand Uruk-hai?" Natsu questions in a humorous tone.

Gray grunts as he looks angrily at him "The hell I am you flaming moron. Don't matter how many of them there are, I'll kick all of their asses." Gray retorts in a serious tone.

Erza walks in front of them with her arms crossed "This is certainly the biggest number of enemies we've ever had to face. However, while I feel we can hold our own, it's the others we should be worried. After all, we have magic, and they don't. And in situations like these where both forces are normal people, or creatures...it's usually the overwhelming numbers that win out on them, except for a lucky few times." Erza says in a concerned tone.

Hearing this made the other three behind her look at each other, she was right after all. In their years in Fairy Tail, while they had faced large numbers of bandits, mercenaries, and dark guilds. Never were the numbers this high before. But considering they had faced off against a large army of Dragons before, if they could handle that, they could handle this...but Aragorn and the others, who were just normal people. That was a different story. They didn't doubt Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli...but all it took was for them to get surrounded with no way out, and it was over for them. The members of Team Natsu knew they had a lot of work cut out for them, it was going to be up to them to try and dwindle the numbers down a lot so that Aragorn and the others, and these Rohirrim stood a better chance against the Uruk-hai. Problem was, without the likes of Happy, and Lily here to help out with airborne attacks, things were going to be a bit more difficult.

The group walked down the stairs towards the main gate "I want every man and strong lad able to bear arms, to be ready for battle by nightfall." Theoden says to Gamling.

Walking towards the gate a few Rohirrim could be seen prepping some wooden beams to be used to reinforce the main gate as Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Team Natsu walked out in front of the gate.

"We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever breached the Deeping Wall, or set foot inside the Hornburg." Theoden says.

"This is no rabble of mindless Orcs." Gimli says as he leans on his axe catching the other's' attention "These are Uruk-hai. Their armor is thick, and their shields broad."

Theoden walks up to Gimli and looks down at him "I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf. I know how to defend my own keep." Theoden says before walking past Gimli as the others follow after him.

"They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. Saruman's hordes will pillage and burn. We've seen it before. Crops can be resown...homes, rebuilt. Within these walls...we will outlast them." Theoden says as the group walks along the inner wall.

"They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people...down to the last child." Aragorn says as Theoden saw all of this in the wrong way.

Theoden turns around with an angered look in his eyes as he grabs Aragorn's shirt and pulls him forward "What would you have me do? Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end, as to be worthy of remembrance." Theoden says, finishing up as he releases his grip on Aragorn and begins to walk away.

"Send out riders my lord. You must call for aid." Aragorn says trying to reason with him. Theoden walks back towards him "And who will come? Elves? Dwarves? More children with magic? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead." Theoden says.

"Gondor will answer." Aragorn answers.

"Gondor?! Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?! Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us?! Where was Gon-?!" Theoden quietly yells through clenched teeth in anger before stopping and turning his head away. Only for a few seconds as he looks back at Aragorn "No, my Lord Aragorn...we are alone." Theoden finishes as he turns and walks away.

Some few minutes later Theoden, Gamling, and another Rohirrim rush up the stairs "Get the women and children into the caves." Theoden says.

"We need more time to lay provisions-"

"There is no time. War is upon us." Theoden cuts him off as they walk into the Keep, in the skies above Helm's Deep a familiar flock of crows are seen turning and flying away from the fortress.

 _Fangorn…_

"We Ents have not troubled about the wars of Men and wizards...for a very long time. But now, something is about to happen, that has not happened, for an age." Treebeard says to the two Hobbits, and Fairy Tail mages as he walks out into an opening in the forest. Nothing but grass and a stone slab sticking out of the ground upwards at an angle.

"Entmoot." Treebeard says.

"What's that?" Merry asks.

"'Tis a gathering." Treebeard replies.

"A gathering?" Lucy asks.

"A gathering of what?" Merry asks.

When suddenly a strange noise comes out from the forest behind them, making Merry, and Wendy turn around as then...they spot two Ents, both of them different from one another and Treebeard walking out of the forest towards them. Pippin, Treebeard, and Lucy look to their left to see three more Ents of different shapes and sizes coming out from the forest. Soon, more Ents begin to appear, all of them varying in shapes and sizes, and branches, and, well all of them just looking like different trees and everything.

"Beech. Oak. Chestnut. Ash. Good, good, good. Many have come." Treebeard says.

The four look at each and every one of the new Ents, who stare back at them "U-Uhm...hello." Wendy says nervously as she waves her hand.

"Now we must decide if the Ents will go to war." Treebeard says.

Hearing this Pippin, and Merry look at Treebeard, a determined smile comes to Merry, and Lucy's face, both of them wanting Treebeard and the Ents to do so, so that they could be of some help to their friends who were out there probably about to face that massive army soon.

 _Back at Helm's Deep…_

"Move back! Move back to the caves!" a soldier yells out.

Behind the Deeping Wall the soldiers help the refugees camping down there move the sick, the wounded, and as many provisions as can be carried at the time to the Glittering Caves. A massive series of large, hollow caves inside the mountain connected to Helm's Deep for in times such as this where the people who could not fight would be safe during the battle.

"Come on people! Quickly now!" A Rohirrim soldier yells as the soldiers stand to the side between the walls below, directing the refugees towards the caves.

"We'll place the reserves along the wall. They can support the archers from above the gate. Erza, you and Gray, will be up there as well, Natsu, and Gajeel will be with us on the Deeping Wall." Aragorn says as he, Legolas, and Erza walk through the crowd of refugees.

"Understand, but, Aragorn." Erza says.

"Aragorn you must rest." Legolas says in an urgent tone "You're no use to us half alive."

"He's right. Let us handle all of this, you need your rest or else you will tire quickly during the battle." Erza says.

"My lord! Aragorn!" Aragorn and the others hear Eowyn call out. Just as she appears rushing through the crowd towards Aragorn as Legolas, and Erza back off to help direct people.

"I'm to be sent with the women into the caves." Eowyn says.

"That is an honorable charge." Aragorn says.

"To mind the children, to find food and bedding when the men return. What renown is there in that?" Eowyn questions.

"My lady, a time may come for valor without renown. Who then will your people look to in the last defense?" Aragorn asks.

"Let me stand by your side." she asks in a pleading tone, the same thing in her eyes as well.

"It is not in my power to command it." Aragorn says as he turns and begins to walk away, when…

"You do not command the others to stay! They fight beside you because they would not be parted from you. Because they love you." she says as Aragorn turns around and approaches her. Hearing that last part, silence rises up between the two as Aragorn keeps looking down and up with his eyes, Eowyn realizing what she said lowers her head before lifting it back up "I'm sorry." she says before then walking off.

"Eowyn…" Erza calls out as she passes by and walks a few feet past the others. Stopping upon hearing Erza as she turns around to see Erza walking towards her.

"While I do not doubt your skills, and would wish to see you fight side by side with me. I cannot force your uncle to change his orders, nor would he listen to me in the first place. But know this. No matter your role, big or small, everything matters when it comes to a battle...Especially if something is to go wrong. You may see your job as meaningless, not worth your skills. But to me, I see your job as an important one. You never know what could happen in the midst of a battle...an enemy, or two, maybe even a few of them, might chance and sneak by while the fighting occurs. And if that was to happen...who then would defend the people in the caves? The ones who cannot fight or wield a blade. Please, do not be upset with what you have been tasked. Because you never know, if that task of yours might just save people's lives." Erza says.

* * *

Night is quickly approaching, inside the armory, not just soldiers, but drafted refugees ranging from both elderly men, and even young boys around Natsu, and Gray's age, some even younger than that prepare for battle placing armor on, and being handed weapons.

"Tch, what the hell. This is ridiculous." Natsu angrily states with clenched teeth as he, Gray, Gajeel, and Erza stand at the front by the entrance looking at the scene before them.

"For once pyro you and me agree. Can't believe this old man is putting people out into battle who have little or no training at all. I don't wanna say it but they'll get slaughtered." Gray says.

"Count me in for agreeing with you punks as well. These Uruk-hai aren't gonna hesitate to cut them down just because they're old guys and little kids in here. Hell, look at some of them, can barely hold a sword." Gajeel says.

"Unfortunately I believe Theoden thinks his walls are going to continue protecting his people. But if this Saruman is as crafty and dangerous as Gandalf says he is, and from what we know of him, then he's going to have tricks up his sleeve. Otherwise he wouldn't have sent this massive force in the first place. And not knowing just what those tricks are, that's even more troubling." Erza says.

Natsu slams his fist into his palm "As long as we're around it don't matter what that bastard throws at us. Send a hundred thousand of those bastards and I'll blow away every last one of them before I let them lay a finger on any of these people." Natsu angrily declares.

Erza closes her eyes and lowers her head "As much as I would like for that to happen...this is war. And in war, both sides take casualties...no matter what." Erza says.

"Not to mention the fact that we're heavily outnumbered. Three hundred, against ten thousand. Worse odds I've ever seen or heard about." Gajeel says.

As they speak Aragorn walks through the armory, after examining a sword he tosses it back on the table and begins to walk towards Legolas, and Gimli "Farmers, farriers, stable boys...These are no soldiers." he says shaking his head.

"Most have seen too many winters." Gimli says.

"Or too few." Legolas adds in.

Legolas surveys the scene even more, looking at the expressions on their faces, in their eyes "Look at them. They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes." Legolas says.

Somehow many of the soldiers and refugee soldiers hear this and look at him, Legolas turns around pacing forward a few feet _"And they should be...Three hundred...against ten thousand?!"_ Legolas says in elvish as he turns back around and looks at Aragorn.

Aragorn looks at him and shrugs his shoulders _"They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras…"_ he says trying to make things not sound as bleak as they appear.

"Aragorn... _They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!"_ Legolas says.

"Then I shall die as one of them!" Aragorn angrily states getting up at Legolas. All attention is on them now as Aragorn suddenly turns and walks away, Legolas attempts to go after him but is stopped by Gimli "Let him go lad. Let him be."

 _Back in Fangorn…_

Night has fallen, at the Entmoot the gathered Ents stand in a circle around the slab of rock in the middle, swaying from side to side while humming. Off to the side, Merry, and Lucy continue to pace back and forth in different directions past each other, while Pippin, and Wendy are fast asleep against a tree. Wendy suddenly wakes up letting out a yawn and raising her hands into the air as Pippin also wakes up a bit startled for some reason.

"What's happened? Anything?" Wendy asks.

"It's...a bit hard to tell." Lucy says as she walks over and helps the young Dragon Slayer up onto her feet as Wendy dusts the dirt off her clothing.

"It's been going for hours." Merry says, the look on his face was one of annoyance.

"They must have decided something by now." Pippin says as he picks himself up.

"Decided? No. We only just finished saying…" Treebeard turns his head around to face the four "...good morning." Treebeard says.

Hearing this Lucy, and Wendy's eyes widened and went blank in shock, Wendy's mouth was opened while Lucy's jaw hung open, Merry also looked on in disbelief while Pippin was also confused, more so by the fact that it was night time too and they just finished saying that.

"But it's nighttime already...You can't take forever." Merry says.

"W-Wait a minute! Are you seriously telling me this entire time we've been waiting from evening to now and you've been saying good morning?! You've been standing there for hours all for **good morning**?!" Lucy cries out just in shock and disbelief as Merry is.

"Don't be hasty." Treebeard says looking back at them again.

"We're running out of time!" Merry says.

"I mean you should be hurrying up yes. But I'm still confused on how anyone can take hours just to say hello? Like I don't understand treeish or anything but shouldn't it at least be a few minutes at the most? But hours?!" Lucy says as she lowers her head, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh "I'll never understand how that works…"

 _Back at Helm's Deep…_

"Move! Move to the outer wall!" a soldier yelled as he ordered some soldiers around. Other orders continued to be yelled out into the air as all over the courtyard soldiers were preparing themselves for battle. Aragorn sits down at the second set of stairs leading towards the Keep, looking over to his left he spots two young boys huddled around a fire pit, one with a spear, the other with a sword as the boy with the sword looks around, a frightened look on his face.

"Give me your sword." Aragorn calls, catching the boy's attention as he looks at him. The boy approaches Aragorn and holds his sword out to him grip first as Aragorn grabs it "What is your name?" he asks.

"Haleth, son of Hama, my lord." Haleth introduces himself as Aragorn examines his sword.

"The men are saying we will not live out the night." he says as Aragorn eyes him "They say it is hopeless."

"With an attitude like that it'll be." Aragorn turns to his left as Haleth looks to his right to see Natsu approaching them as he stops. "But gather up that courage within you, and you'll be showing those Uruks a thing or two about messing with you. You don't see me complaining, and I'm around like, what your age if not the exact same." Natsu says as he crosses his arms and smirks as he leans against the pillar.

"What do you have to worry about though? You are one of the magic wielders are you not? That with the incredible strength you possess...what do you have to fear?" Haleth asks.

"Hey. Just because I can control fire and happen to be stronger than a normal person, doesn't mean a thing. I didn't always have my magic, and you wanna know what that me was like? Scared, and alone. That all changed when I learned my magic and made incredible friends. But then one time something happened to me and my friends and we lost the ability to do our magic, and we had to face our new enemy who had an army at their back, magicless to rescue more friends of ours that had been captured. But did us not having our magic stop us. Not a bit. We retained our courage, and our will to protect each other and rescue our friends. And in the end, that all paid off. So just because I have magic and you don't, doesn't mean you should give up. Gather your courage, and your will to protect your friends and loved ones, let that be what drives you forward. Let that be what keeps you fighting through the night, no matter what." Natsu says with a serious look on his face.

Haleth looks at Natsu for a few seconds before turning his head away, Aragorn smiles at Natsu for giving his encouraging words as he stands up and twirls Haleth's sword around a bit. "This is a good sword." he says as he then hands it back to Haleth "Haleth, son of Hama…"

Aragorn puts a hand on his shoulder "...there is always hope. And perhaps listen to what my friend says, those are some very encouraging words to live by." Aragorn says as Haleth nods his head and turns to walk off.

Aragorn stands back up and looks at Natsu "Strange...never seen that side of you before." Aragorn says with a humorous smile.

"Yeah well, I'm known to be surprising sometimes." Natsu says with his signature toothy grin as he closes his eyes and puts his hands behind his head.

Back inside the armory Aragorn prepares for battle now, putting some chainmail armor on before putting his normal clothes back over it, followed by his weapons belt as all that was left now was his sword. Which he then found being handed to him by Legolas who had suddenly appeared in front to his right. Aragorn nods his head thanking him "We have trusted you this far. You have not led us astray. Forgive me. I was wrong to despair." Legolas says.

Aragorn shakes his head while mouthing out the word _no "There is nothing to forgive, Legolas."_ Aragorn says as he puts his right hand on Legolas's left shoulder, Legolas doing the same thing in a friendly gesture.

Aragorn and Legolas then look over to see Gimli trying to get some chainmail armor on himself "We had time, I'd get this adjusted." Gimli berates to himself as he then drops the chainmail, which hits the floor showing it is way to long for him. After all, the chainmail was designed for a human, not a dwarf. Seeing this from where they stand at the stairs to the entryway Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel start laughing at Gimli's unfortunate situation while Erza just smiles and giggles under her breathe. Aragorn and Legolas look at each other.

"Quiet you three!" Gimli angrily yells at the three male Fairy Tail mages "Uh~, it's a little tight across the chest." Gimli says.

"I don't think that's the only problem with it." Gray says.

"And what about you three? Are you not going to put on any armor?" Gimli questions as he, Aragorn, and Legolas look at them. After all, out of the Fairy Tail mages Erza was the only one wearing armor, not to mention just had a whole massive set of them.

"It is true. Should you not place at least a chainmail on for a battle as big as this?" Legolas asks.

"Eh, armor's not my thing. Besides they'd melt right off me, unless of course there was fire proof armor. That sounds really cool...but then it'd probably be annoying to wear around and everything." Natsu says with his hands behind his head.

"And don't forget with Gray's stripping issue he'd probably lose the armor in the battlefield as soon as everything started." Erza says with her arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Hey!" Gray angrily yells.

"As for me…" Gajeel says as he holds his arms outwards, a green magic circle appearing beneath his feet as then suddenly his entire body is covered in **"Iron Dragon's Scales.** Increases my defense as well as offensive capabilities, and is so tough it can crush anything from rocks, to bones, and can even help me shrug off something as a massive ass sword wielded by your Exceed partner. Ain't gonna find anything tougher than this let me tell you that." Gajeel says.

"Pfft. It was tough, until **I** broke it." Natsu says in a boastful manner.

"YOU GOT LUCKY THAT'S ALL!" Gajeel angrily yells at Natsu.

Before things can escalate between the two, a strange horn echoes out in the distance outside catching everyone's attention "That is no Orc horn." Legolas says as the group quickly begins to run outside, except for Gimli due to his problem.

Wondering what who was blowing the horn the Rohirrim look off the walls, and are taken aback by what they see "Send for the king." a Rohirrim says to another as that Rohirrim quickly runs off to get Theoden "Open the gate!" the Rohirrim then yells.

"Open up the gate!"

The gates lay open, as coming up the causeway was a massive column of cloaked Elven warriors with their hoods up, all of them wielding their bows in their right hands except for a few that carried a flag. Entering into Helm's Deep the elves walk up the stairs as the Rohirrim stand aside, looking at/down at the elves, many of them shocked, but a few with joyous looks on their faces at the appearance of them as it appeared they had received reinforcements. Theoden, in his armor, walked down from the Keep and into the courtyard, a look of disbelief in his eyes as then the lead elf who wore a red cloak and golden armor approached him. It was Haldir of Lothlorien.

"How is this possible?" Theoden wonders as Haldir bows forward at him in respect.

Behind him the elves continue to gather in the courtyard in rows behind him "I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An Alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought, and died together." Running footsteps are heard as Haldir looks up, and Theoden turns around, more Rohirrim are gathered up by the Keep as then Aragorn, Natsu, and the others, even Gimli, appear and are shocked by what they see. "We come to honor that allegiance." Haldir finishes as the elves have finished gathering.

" _Well met, Haldir."_ Aragorn greets putting his right hand to his heart and then lowering it as the others follow him from behind. Aragorn then hugs him without warning taking Haldir off a bit before he then hugs him back, Aragorn and the others happy to see him as Aragorn pulls away.

"You are most welcome." Aragorn says.

"Yo! Haldir!" Natsu greets with his hand raised up in the air.

"It is good to see you again." Erza says.

"As it is you, mages." Haldir replies.

"Well, our odds just increased a little bit. Every help counts now at this point." Gray says.

"Gihi." Gajeel says giving off a toothy grin.

Legolas approaches and the two put their hands on each other's shoulders to greet each other, just then the other Elves turn their heads at the same time, followed by their bodies, and then slam their bows on the ground at the exact same time. Haldir looks at Theoden "We are proud to fight alongside Men once more." Haldir says.

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **haljordan123:** As you saw, probably not. The only reason that was brought up was because Eowyn asked him. Unless Natsu and the others have a reason to ask him how old he is, it just would feel weird putting it in there for no reason.

To **Mataras:** Because I can XD. In terms of how long...it will take a while cause as I said. Once I've finished the second Film, I will be taking a break from this story to work on my other stories for a few weeks. Sorry that's just how I work. Heck, I shouldn't be doing this chapter right now and the next two but I want to because I just want to second film at least out of the way so that way when I come back, I can finish the third film, and then this story in general. In terms of chapters, I got two more as I said for this film, and then after that the next chapter deals with the beginning part of the third film so I mean...that does include them going to Isengard, seeing their friends again, and taking down Saruman so...yeah.


	12. The First Battle! Siege of Helm's Deep

Silence. That's all there was on the walls of Helm's Deep. With the Elves of Lothlorien having of now reinforced them, all of the Rohirrim were now positioned on the outer, and inner walls or down below by the gate as Theoden overlooked his men from the central battlement of the inner wall. Above the gate were three wooden window-like holes that were at the moment covered by wooden planks to conceal them where more Rohirrim hid behind. On the outer wall alongside the Rohirrim were Erza and Gray who stood ready for battle just like everyone else. As for the Elves they were placed along the Deeping Wall, and behind in the Deep, amongst them was their leader Haldir, and Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Natsu, and Gajeel who had his Iron Dragon Scales covering his body.

As everyone stood at the ready, the sounds of heavy, metallic, marching footsteps, thousands of them echo off from the distance like a low, quiet thunder strike as the army of ten-thousand Uruk-hai marched towards them. For the defenders, all they could make out was like an endless wave of lit torches that illuminated the massive army for miles, and miles out from the fortress. It did indeed look like a never ending army of Uruk-hai, and yet, all of the soldiers kept their wits about and showed no fear.

"You could have picked a better spot." Gimli says, Legolas on his right side and the two Dragon Slayers on his left as unfortunately he could not see a thing due to his short stature.

Aragorn walked over and stood behind his friends "Well lad, whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night." Gimli says.

The wind began to pick up, thunder flashed in the sky as the Uruk-hai army got closer and closer. "You're friends are with you Aragorn." Legolas says.

"Let's hope they last the night." Gimli says.

"Sheesh, thanks for the vote of confidence." Gajeel says.

"Ain't no way in hell I'm letting those bastards take me down so easily." Natsu states as he narrows his eyes with a determined look in them as Aragorn walks away.

Thunder flashes through the darkness again as Theoden looks up with his eyes. A few seconds later a few raindrops drop from the sky, starting off calmly at first until then the rain intensifies and begins pouring down like crazy by the second. The Rohirrim and Elves continued to look forward, the Uruk-hai army drew closer and closer as pikes and the flags of Isengard were held high above them, one Uruk-hai, most likely a leader perhaps walked up onto an outcropping rock and let out a roar.

" _Show them no mercy...for you shall receive none!"_ Aragorn says as he walks between the Elven warriors, his voice echoing out. The Uruks continued to march forward, until the Uruk leader roars out into the air while raising his sword making the army stop in their tracks. The tension in the air was high, the Uruk-hai stood just a few meters out from the wall as both sides just stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Gimli jumped up and down in an attempt to find out what was happening "What's happening out there?" he asks.

"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas says catching Gimli's attention. Legolas then looks down at him "Or would you like me to find you a box?" he says with a humorous smile.

Hearing this makes both Natsu, and Gajeel snort in laughter as they manage to contain it. Gimli looks up at Legolas with a stern look, but that soon changes as he begins laughing. The Uruk-hai leader lets out a series of roars into the air, issuing commands apparently to the army of Uruk-hai as just then all of the pikemen start pounding their pikes into the ground repeatedly, again, and again. Aragorn walks forward and stops, drawing out his sword as Natsu, and Gajeel ready themselves for the fight they could just feel was about to start. Up on the higher walls the Rohirrim archers readied their bows and arrows pulling the arrows back on the bows, Erza held her left arm out as then a bow requipped into her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back as she herself readied an arrow to fire down. Gray meanwhile put his hands together, the cold air surrounding them as he prepared his Ice Make magic as well.

The Uruk-hai continued to pound, and pound their pikes against the ground letting out a roaring chant, when all of a sudden an old man, probably one of the drafted Rohirrim, accidentally lets the arrow slip from his hand and releases it. The arrow soars down through the air and strikes right into the neck of an Uruk knocking it back into its fellow Uruk-hai behind who caught him but were taken aback by the suddenness of it.

" _HOLD!"_ Aragorn yells out, the Uruk-hai at the same time stop chanting and pounding their pikes into the ground.

The soldier who accidentally fired looks around with a shocked look on his face, after all he didn't intend to do it but the arrow literally slipped from his hands. Erza, and Gray look at the man while Theoden is also surprised by what just happened, and a bit worried since of what it will most likely cause.

The struck Uruk groans out one last time and then falls forward to the ground, dead, as all of the Uruks around it look down at their fallen comrade. Nothing except for the continuous falling of the rain is heard...well for a few seconds anyways before "Pfft HAHAHAHA~" Natsu suddenly cries out in laughter that echoes through the entire air catching nearly everyone's attention.

"Now that! Was hilarious! They did not see that coming at all! HAHA~! Bet they wanted to get the first kill of the battle but guess what, you guys just suffered the first lost so how does that feel?! HAAAAHAHAHA~!" Natsu yells out as he continues to laugh, bending over with his hands around his stomach as he just couldn't contain it.

Pretty much everyone was now looking directly at him, the Elves, Rohirrim, Aragorn and the others, shocked that he was laughing now of all times?! Gajeel was looking down at him with clenched teeth, his eyes widened and blank in shock at what Natsu was doing as up on the outer wall, Gray and Erza's were also widened and blank, but in anger.

"Natsu~..." Erza says through gritted teeth.

"You moron…" Gray says.

Natsu lifts his head up and looks forward as his laughter begins to subside, then looking around to see that everyone was pretty much looking right at him "What?" Natsu asks with a raised eyebrow.

To say the Uruks were not happy in the least...well...that was just about right, except that they weren't just not happy. They were beyond pissed now. The Uruks began to growl in anger, but that anger soon turned into roars, one Uruk roared out, and more joined in, until eventually every single one of them was letting out an angered roar.

"Oh…" Natsu says realizing that he had just made a bad situation, much worse.

The leader of the Uruks yelled out the order to attack while throwing his sword forward, making all of the Uruk-hai start running forward towards the wall. "So it begins…" Theoden says.

All of the Uruks began to run forward, the pikes dropping forward at an angle as they ran towards the Deeping Wall _"Prepare to fire!"_ Aragorn yells out as he raises his sword into the air.

" _Prepare to fire!"_ an Elven Warrior yells out as Haldir, Legolas, and the other Elves grab their arrows and in synchronization pull them out from their quivers, onto their bows, and back as the first row aims downwards and the second row forward.

" _Their armor is weak at the neck, and beneath the arm."_ Legolas says.

" _Release arrows!"_ Aragorn yells as he throws his sword forward. Legolas, Haldir, and the elves release the arrows. The first Uruk is hit, and is immediately followed by many more Uruk-hai as they drop dead by the arrows. "Did they hit anything?" Gimli questions Legolas.

"Give them a volley." Theoden says to Gamling. Gamling raises his right arm into the air and swings it forward "Fire!" he yells out.

"Fire!" another soldier shouts as the Rohirrim then release their arrows, Erza among them, down from the outer wall taking out more Uruk-hai.

" _Hurl!"_ Aragorn yells as he raises his swords to the Elven warriors down in the Deep, the Elves raise their bows and arrows as Aragorn then yells _"To flow!"_ swinging his sword forward as those Elves release their arrows which fly over their comrades heads. The Elves, and Rohirrim continue to shoot one arrow after another taking more, and more Uruk-hai down as the Uruks continue charging forward.

"Send them to me, come on!" Gimli yells out holding his battle axe at the ready.

Erza pulls back on another arrow and fires taking out another Uruk. "Alright, let me have some." Gray says with a smirk on his face as he pulls his arms back.

" **Ice Make: Arrows!"** Gray yells out as he throws his arms forward, creating a massive bow of ice in his hands as he then unleashes a massive barrage of ice arrows from it. The ice arrows immediately impact into and take out many, many Uruk-hai, seeing this kind of power takes some of the Rohirrim back in shock and amazement.

"What? Is that all ice boy has?" Gajeel says in a mocking tone.

"I'll show him some real firepower!" Natsu states.

" **Roar of the…"** Natsu yells as he breathes in.

" **Roar of the…"** Gajeel also yells as he breathes in.

" **Fire/Iron Dragon!"** both Dragon Slayers yell as they send their respective dragon roar attacks out. Sending the blasts outwards more towards the center mass of Uruk-hai since they did not want to cause any accidental damage to the wall with the Uruks so close to it. Nevertheless upon impact massive explosions erupt from where the attacks impact, taking out probably hundreds of Uruk-hai as many of them are sent flying.

Seeing destructive power of **that** magnitude takes many, many of the soldiers of both Rohirrim, and Elves alike off making some of them stop what they're doing and just look on at the massive explosions as even Theoden, and Gamling are shown to have shocked expressions on their faces. "What...what power." Gamling says.

"So...this is the power of these Dragon Slayers from another world." Haldir says in awe.

"Hey! Save some for the rest of us you two!" Gimli says in an annoyed tone.

Just then from the crowd of Uruks at the foot of the wall, an Uruk with a crossbow appears and fires its bolt, hitting and killing an Elf. Just then more of them appear and unleash their bolts from their crossbows taking out more elven warriors along the wall, one of them crying out as he falls over the wall to the ground below. A few elven warriors see the attacks coming and manage to dodge, but now they are losing numbers as well.

" **Roar of the Fire/Iron Dragon!"** both Natsu, and Gajeel yell out as they unleash their attacks again towards the center, taking out more Uruk-hai and sending many more flying.

As they both recover from sending their attack, a crossbow bolt suddenly strikes Gajeel in the forehead, pinging off him but still taking him off balance for a few seconds as he yelps out. "HAHA! You got hit and I didn't!" Natsu yells out in laughter.

"Hey! Shut it Salamander! When I find the bastard who shot that he's dead!" Gajeel angrily states.

Natsu continues laughing as he looks forward, his eyes then widening as he cries out and throws himself backwards, just barely dodging a crossbow bolt as it flies right over his face. Throwing himself back up "Alright! Who shot that!?" Natsu angrily shouts.

The Uruks are now gathering below at the wall, just as then a few of them rush forward carrying something in their arms, planting them into the ground and pushing them upwards. _"Ladders!"_ Aragorn yells out.

"Good!" Gimli says.

Sure enough all along the wall, ladders are hoisted up by the Uruks, at the top of them are specialized Uruks known as Berserkers "Swords! Swords!" Aragorn yells as many of the elves quickly switch their bows for their swords to engage the Uruks in close quarters combat. One Berserker roars out as his ladder is hoisted forward, though right towards Gimli as he lets out a battle cry and cuts the Uruk Berserker just as it launches itself forward taking him out. On another part of the wall another Uruk berserker lands, and in one swing cuts many Elves down. Soon more Uruk-hai swordsmen begin to scale up the ladders and onto the wall. Aragorn turns to see an Uruk berserker charge towards him, the massive Uruk swings its sword at Aragorn who ducks under it, and then again after a returning swing as Aragorn then stabs the Berserker right through its stomach. Haldir drives his sword through an Uruk before it can get over the ladder, turning to his right and swinging again to take out another Uruk-hai.

Aragorn takes out another Berserker, just as then an Uruk coming over the ladder punches him down to the ground, even when on the ground Aragorn is able to dodge the same Uruks sword as it comes down on him, cutting it across the chest and then cutting its left leg off making the Uruk fall down to the ground as Aragorn quickly finishes it off. All along the wall the Elves and Uruks engage each other in close quarters, both sides taking casualties as a few elves remain back with their bows and arrows and continue to shoot any Uruks as they appear on the top of the ladder. Two elves attempt to rush a Berserker, the Berserker however cuts them both down one at a time with ease, when suddenly Gimli appears from behind. Jumping forward and turning around as he slides beneath the Uruk between its legs, the Berserker raises its sword to take him out but Gimli is more quicker and strikes him right in the stomach taking it out.

Aragorn swings his sword taking out another Uruk and then takes another one out coming at him from behind "Legolas! Two already!" Gimli yells out while holding up his middle and index finger to show the number.

Legolas looks at him with a grin on his face "I'm on 17!" he says back.

"Huh?! I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" Gimli angrily retorts as he turns and throws his axe forward. Right into another Berserker as he strikes it where the sun don't shine, making the Uruk squeal in pain as it falls forward off the ladder allowing Gimli to finish it off.

Legolas pulls back on his arrow and fires taking out an Uruk as it reaches the top of the ladder, turning to his right and doing the same to another Uruk as he looks back at Gimli "Nineteen!" he yells.

Gimli however ignores this as he takes out another Uruk-hai, quickly swinging to his right to dodge another Berserker as it brings it sword down. Swinging his axe across its face striking the helmet as he then jabs the tip of his axe into its face directly. Legolas shoots down another Uruk sending it falling off the ladder.

Natsu and Gajeel stand back to back "A competition? I like the sound of that." Natsu says with a grin.

"Heh, too bad for you I've already kicked more ass, so quit now while you're ahead Salamander." Gajeel says.

"The hell you have! I got over a hundred more of these punks down then you do!" Natsu states.

"In your dreams!" Gajeel angrily retorts.

Both Dragon Slayers launch themselves forward **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells as he slams a fire coated fist into the side of a Berserker's face sending it flying off the wall.

Gajeel ducks under a normal Uruks sword **"Hard Fist of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells as he throws an uppercut into the Uruks face, breaking its helmet to pieces and sending it flying up into the air. Natsu ducks underneath an Uruks sword and slams his fire coated fist into its stomach sending it flying back while knocking it forward to the ground, he then jump twists to his side and delivers a flaming kick to the side of another Uruks head sending it over the wall.

Natsu lands back on his feet and turns his head **"Sword Horn of the Fire Dragon!"** he yells as he turns around completely and blasts himself forward. Engulfing his body in fire as he slams headfirst into an Uruk Berserker sending it flying back knocking a few more Uruk-hai down or aside.

" **Sword of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells as he transforms his right arm into an iron blade. Swinging it downwards as he cuts down two charging Uruks, when then an Uruk berserker behind him swings its sword down at his back. Only for the weapon to break apart upon coming into contact with Gajeel's Iron Scales as Gajeel still feels the attack however and turns around, throwing his sword forward and driving it through the Berserker's stomach taking it out. Gajeel then turns back to his left and throws his right leg upwards, transforming it into an iron club and extending it to kick an Uruk climbing the ladder sending it flying off.

Aragorn rushes by an Uruk-hai, blocking its sword and striking it in the back before charging forward and blocking another Uruks sword and killing that Uruk down as well. He then rushes towards the nearby ladder and kicks another Uruk down before it can climb over. One of the Uruk-hai's ladders are knocked off the wall crushing the Uruks on the ground beneath it, however more are placed up along the wall as more and more Uruk-hai continue to scale up them and get on the wall. An Elven Warrior is seen trying to stop another Uruk from climbing the ladder but the Uruk grabs a hold of him and pulls him through the slit on the wall tossing him to the ground below as he cries out.

 _Meanwhile…_

 _In Fangorn…_

Treebeard begins to turn around away from the other Ents, Pippin notices this "Merry." he calls to his friend as Merry turns around and Lucy and Wendy walk forward. "We have just agreed." Treebeard says.

The four exchange looks with each other, anticipated to hear what they agreed upon, when they notice his head slowly bobbing up and down and...his eyes closed. "Is he...sleeping?" Wendy whispers to Lucy.

"Yes?" Merry quickly says waking Treebeard back up as he quickly shakes his head.

"I have told your names to the Entmoot...and we have agreed. You are not, Orcs." Treebeard says as behind him the other Ents nod in agreement.

Lucy and Wendy close their eyes and let out a sigh, once again, not the thing they wanted to hear "I thought we were way past this already?" Lucy questions aloud.

"Well, that's good news." Pippin says rather optimistically.

Merry however has a not too pleased look in his eyes that they were once again nowhere near the topic of war "And what about Saruman? Have you come to a decision about him?" Merry asks.

"Now, don't be hasty, Master Meriadoc." Treebeard says.

"Hasty…" Merry says, a bit of a sour tone in his voice as he takes a few steps forward "Our friends are out there. They need our help. They cannot fight this war on their own." Merry says.

"War? Yes. It affects us all. Tree, root and twig." Treebeard then leans forward a little bit "But you must understand, young Hobbit. It takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish…"

"We've come to notice…" Lucy says a bit lightheartedly.

"And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say…" Treebeard says.

* * *

 _Back at Helm's Deep…_

The rain has now come to an end. Natsu jumps up on the wall between two ladders "Hey Gajeel! Watch and learn metal brains!" Natsu calls out to him as he then grabs one end of both ladders with his hands and ignites his arms. Natsu sets the ladders bursting in flames, the Uruks on both of them began panicking as a few even jumped to get off of them before Natsu then pushed both ladders away, crushing the Uruks on and beneath it and causing more pain to them due to the flames still burning on the ladder.

"Why you…" Gajeel says in anger since he couldn't do anything like that, turning around as he headbutts a charging Uruk knocking it flat onto its back.

"Seventeen!" Gimli yells out as he strikes an Uruk off a ladder. He was now standing on the wall between two ladders himself, but was striking each and every Uruk that reached the top in an effort to catch up to Legolas. "Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! Twenty-one! Twenty-two!"

As this and the battle on the Deeping Wall was happening, up on the causeway a massive column of Uruk-hai holding shields up above them, except for the ones at the front who held them forward, slowly made their way forward. Arrows and rocks from the Rohirrim unfortunately did nothing to stop them due to the shields and the angle of the Uruks facing them.

"Causeway! _Causeway!"_ Aragorn yelled out to some of the Elven archers quickly directing them to stop the Uruks on there as the Elven archers turned their bows and released the arrows. From their angle they were able to start shooting Uruks and hitting them on the causeway taking out a few at a time, but it wasn't enough as they continued forward.

"Let's see you try and stop this **Ice Make: Ice Cannon!"** Gray yells as he creates a massive cannon in his hands and fires a single ice cannonball from it. The ice cannonball travels forward and impacts into the Uruk-hai at the front of the shield column, exploding and taking many of them out. However almost immediately as they were taken down, the Uruks quickly reconfigured themselves as the Uruks now at the front placed their shields forward and continued on like nothing happened.

"Is this it? Is this all you can conjure Saruman?" Theoden questions out loud.

Back down at the Deeping Wall, moving through the army of Uruks on the ground were two more Uruks that had in their hands the massive, spiked container which they carried by the handles on the side. The two Uruks went into the culvert and placed the container down, moving back out to allow two more Uruks to come in and place another container above it. Those two ran out as then, along an open path between the army of Uruks, a Berserker suddenly begins charging forward with a flashing lit torch in its hand.

Natsu grabs the head of an Uruk-hai and releases a small explosive blast from his hand sending the Uruk flying into two more knocking them to the ground. Before he does anything else, he stops in his tracks as his dragon smell begins to pick a scent up in the air, a familiar one, one that usually accompanied either guns...or explosives. Realizing what it was he turned his head and looked down, spotting the Uruk berserker as he now had a clear idea of what was going on "Aragorn!" Natsu yells out.

Aragorn immediately takes notice of the running Berserker himself, and had a feeling if Natsu was pointing it out, it was for a reason _"Bring him down, Legolas!"_ Aragorn yells out.

Legolas seeing the Uruk pulled back on his bow and fired, the arrow piercing into the Berserker's right shoulder but failing to slow him down in the least bit. _"Kill him! Kill him!"_ Aragorn continues to yell.

An Uruk attempts to attack Legolas from behind, but Gajeel appears and slams his fist into the Uruks head sending it flying. Legolas readies another arrow and carefully aims, firing again and hitting it in the other shoulder, but once again failing to take it out as it continues running. Finally the Berserker launches itself into the culvert.

The two containers turn out to be explosives! The explosives go off causing the center of the Deeping Wall to erupt upwards into the air, sending stones, ladders, Uruks, and Elves flying both on the wall and on the ground. Theoden, the Rohirrim, Erza, and Gray all turn their heads towards the explosion, shocked looks coming to their faces.

"Did that-"

"No, that wasn't Natsu." Erza says cutting Gray off.

The force of the explosion rocks the remainder of the standing wall on both sides, making the Elves, Uruk-hai, Legolas, Gimli, and Gajeel get knocked to the floor. As for Aragorn, and Natsu, both of them land on the ground in the Deep, unconscious, but still alive luckily. The rocks, and debris sent flying into the air begin to land and crash among the Uruk-hai army, crushing a few Uruk-hai and knocking those around the landing spot down. Everything finally subsides, but nevertheless, one major issue has just appeared for the defending forces...the Deeping Wall has been breached, as Theoden continues to look on in shock at what just happened.

"Ow, ow, ow." Natsu says as he begins to push himself up, the Fire Dragon Slayer not only conscious actually, but okay. Then again, he's taken worse than a small explosion like that before and...well, survived.

Some Uruks begin to run into the breach in the wall, only to be slowed down a bit by rushing water. Theoden and the Rohirrim are only beginning to recover from the shock that hit them that the wall has been breached. As then on the causeway the Uruks have closed in on the gate, but something moving through them begins knocking a few on the sides off the causeway. That something, is a massive battering ram.

"Brace the gate!" Theoden yells out.

The Rohirrim down below quickly follow the order and rush forward bracing themselves against the gate, just as the battering ram slams into it knocking the Rohirrim back a bit as they quickly recover and brace back up against it. The Rohirrim above the gate continue to fire their arrows as then the wooden murder holes are opened, allowing more Rohirrim to start tossing whatever they can down at them, from spears, to rocks as more Uruk-hai are struck down. Though any Uruks killed on the battering ram are immediately replaced like before, the men throw spears and fire arrows down at them, as any young boys grab rocks and hurl them down at the Uruks.

"Hold them! Stand firm!" Theoden yells.

Back down in the Deep the Uruks are beginning to rush through the breach in the wall "Hey! Aragorn!" Natsu yells shouts as he rushes over to Aragorn just as he begins to regain consciousness.

"Aragorn!" Gimli yells as he finally regains consciousness and spots the Dunedain Ranger in trouble below. Natsu helps Aragorn up as the two turn around and look up, as they see Gimli run and then jump off the wall, cannonballing down into the Uruks at the front knocking many of them down.

"Gimli!" Aragorn yells out.

Gimli quickly recovers back onto his feet as he swings his axe to knock away an Uruks sword and then slams his axe into the Uruks face knocking it back. He is not able to do much more however as then another Uruk backhands him knocking him into the water. _"Release arrows!"_ Aragorn yells swinging his sword forward, ordering the Elven archers behind him to release a barrage of arrows as they do so taking down many Uruks.

" _Charge!"_ Aragorn yells as then the Elven warriors with their swords drawn charge forward past their comrades, Aragorn begins charging forward along with Natsu as he ignites both of his fists aflame. The Uruks continue to pour into the breach as the ones at the front then lower their pikes forward to skewer the enemy as they charge forward. Aragorn cries out as he knocks a pike aside, many of the elves are lucky except for one as an Uruk drives it through his chest. Natsu jumps up and over the Uruks, landing down on one Uruks face sending it down to the ground **"Wing Attack of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells out as he spins around, releasing a massive streaming blast of fire from his arms taking out many Uruk-hai and sending a few flying upwards into the air.

Aragorn swings his sword from the side, the Uruk in front of him blocks it with its shield and brings its sword down on Aragorn who brings his upwards to deflect it, recovering as he swings the sword again to decapitate the Uruk. Back up on the wall connected to the rest of the fortress everyone has recovered from being knocked down, Legolas grabs a shield and throws it forward. The shield slides across the ground as then Legolas jumps on it, propelling the shield forward some more as he then begins surfing down the stairs to the Deep, firing one arrow after another with ease taking a few more Uruk-hai out as Natsu and Gajeel happen to look up/down and see this. Legolas then jumps off and kicks it forward, sending the shield flying into the neck of another Uruk as he then brings out another arrow and stabs it through another Uruk in front of him taking it out.

"Tch, showoff." Gajeel says. An Uruk attempts to attack him from behind as he is distracted but Gajeel hears him coming and simply throws a fist upwards into the Uruks face without turning.

"Okay...I'll admit that was cool." Natsu says a bit taken aback by what just happened. As he turns back around and slams a fire fist into another Uruks face. Gimli gets out from the water and shakes his head as he is helped back up by Aragorn. The remaining elves draw their swords and join the fight, but the Uruk-hai continue to stream through the breach.

 _Back in Fangorn…_

"The Ents, cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done." Treebeard says as in the center of the Entmoot the Hobbits and Fairy Tail mages stand.

"What?!" Lucy says shocked and angered to hear this.

"How can that be your decision?!" Merry questions with an angered look in his eyes.

"This is not our war." Treebeard says.

"But you're part of this world!" Merry yells. Treebeard seems to be taken aback by his sudden yelling, his eyes looking away as Merry begins to look at the other Ents. "Aren't you?!" he questions them as they all are taken aback by his question and look at one another, apprehensive looks in their eyes.

"You must help. Please. You must do something." Merry says.

"Do you not care about what happens to this world?!" Lucy asks now stepping up. "If you don't do something, then all of these innocent, good-hearted people. All the grass, and trees, everything green, good, **beautiful** in this world will die and burn! Is that what you want?!" Lucy yells out.

"You are young and brave, Master Merry, Mistress Lucy. But your parts in this tale are over. Go back to your home." Treebeard says, shocking the four as they couldn't believe at what they were hearing.

 _A Few minutes later…_

Merry puts his cloak on as Pippin approaches him "Maybe Treebeard's right...We don't belong here Merry. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire. Maybe we should go home." Pippin says.

"The fires of Isengard will spread...and the woods of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn. And…" Merry turns his head and faces Pippin "And it's like Lucy said. All that was once green and good in this world will be gone." he puts a hand on Pippin's shoulder "There won't be a Shire Pippin." Merry says.

Nearby "Some helpers we turned out to be. Can't even convince a few talking trees to help fight in the war. And all the while Natsu and the others are off fighting and saving people, we're stuck here doing nothing!" Lucy says, saddened and angered at herself and everything that has happened around her.

As Lucy stood and leaned against a tree, Wendy sat on a root beside her with her arms crossed as she leaned forward with a saddened look on her face "Maybe it was a mistake for us to be brought here as well. Maybe it should've only been Natsu-san and the others. All we've done so far is fail at helping the people of Middle-Earth." Wendy says, sadness in her voice as she begins weeping.

Lucy soon realized that her negativity was starting to affect Wendy, and she couldn't let that happen to her as she leaned back up and walked over sitting down beside her "H-Hey don't listen to anything I say Wendy. I'm just, venting out some frustration that's all. We've done some good while we've been here." Lucy says.

"Like what, Lucy-san?" Wendy asks.

"Like…" Lucy couldn't think of anything. Weathertop, Natsu and the others helped drive back the Ringwraith's from the Hobbits and unfortunately Wendy wasn't able to save Frodo from the Morgul Blade. Moria, sure they kicked some Goblin butt, but Lucy failed in saving Frodo, which luckily he survived thanks to the Mithril shirt, and Amon Hen they failed at protecting Merry, and Pippin leading to everything that got them here, and Boromir…

"Lucy-san?" Wendy asks.

"We've...we've done some stuff, just so hard to remember it and everything." Lucy says then chuckling nervously, which Lucy could tell Wendy was seeing through making her stop.

Wendy decided to ignore it however knowing after all that Lucy was just trying to raise her spirit "What are we going to do now, Lucy-san?" Wendy asks.

"Honestly. I don't know. We can't really go back to the Shire since that isn't our home. Maybe Treebeard will keep us with him until Gandalf and the others come for us. But other than that though, that's about it." Lucy replies. Lucy raises her right hand up and looks at the pink Fairy Tail stamp on her hand _"Think it's safe to say I've failed this job…"_ Lucy says in her head.

 _Back at Helm's Deep…_

The endless army of Uruk-hai continued to make their way through the breach in the wall, the Elves were suffering to many casualties as they continued to try and hold the Uruks off, some Elves could be seen running up the back stairs trying to get the wounded to safety. Theoden continued to watch the battle unfold from his battlement.

Legolas, out of arrows, pulls his two Elven daggers out and twirling them around swings them forward, knocking an Uruks sword aside and then striking him on the back of the head. Gimli knocks an Uruk down and bringing his axe back slams it onto its chest. Natsu throws his right arm outwards in an arc like a claw, striking and blowing away many Uruks in front of him. Gajeel still up on the wall throws his left fist forward into an Uruks face, and then turns around to throw another punch into another charging Uruk-hai. Aragorn swings his sword upwards striking an Uruk up its head.

"Aragor~n!" Aragorn suddenly hears Theoden call out making him look up.

"Fall back to the Keep! Get your men out of there!" Theoden yells out.

" _To the Keep!"_ Aragorn yells out as the Elves hearing this begin to retreat. He turns to deal with another Uruk as he blocks its sword, kicks it off its feet and then drives his sword through finishing it off. _"Pull back to the Keep!"_ Aragorn yells out while signaling the Elves to retreat. As he looks up at the wall he spots Haldir continuing to fight along with a few other remaining Elven warriors "Haldir!" he yells up catching his attention as he finishes off another Uruk.

" _To the Keep!"_ Aragorn yells as Haldir nods his head.

" _To the Keep!"_ Haldir yells to his men.

"What are you doing? What are you stopping for? RAH~!" Gimli yells out as he is unwillingly pulled away from the battle by Legolas and another Elf.

"Retreat? Sorry, not on the list of words I know!" Natsu says to Aragorn as he stands close to him.

"You will retreat to the Keep Natsu, and that's an order!" Aragorn angrily states.

" _To the Keep!"_ Haldir yells as many of his men listen and begin to retreat. Turning back forward he stabs another Uruk as it charges at him, when suddenly an Uruk appears from his side and cuts at his arm. Making Haldir gasp in pain as he quickly stabs the Uruk, Haldir looks down at the cut going down his arm as blood flows out from it, knowing immediately that he had to get off the battlefield to get it taken care of or before something else happened. Unfortunately as he turns to leave an Uruk-hai comes at him from behind with its sword raised "Haldir!" Aragorn yells out.

"Haldir! Behind you!" Natsu yells out.

Just then Gajeel jumps up over Haldir and throws his right fist down into the Uruks face sending it onto the ground. "Sneaky bastard." Gajeel says as he turns and walks in front of Haldir, now a large group of Uruk-hai were charging towards him with no Elves remaining between him and them **"Roar of the Iron Dragon!"** Gajeel yells out as he sends his roar attack at the Uruk-hai blasting them away.

"Hang on, I got yah." Gajeel says as he grabs and puts Haldir's injured arm over his shoulders "I got him! You two just get out of there!" Gajeel yells as he begins to carry Haldir away towards the nearby stairs.

Aragorn and Natsu become relieved to see Haldir okay, and with all of the Elves safely retreating "It's our turn. Natsu, let's go!" Aragorn says as he turns and starts running.

Natsu is usually not one for retreating, but seeing how things were going right now he knew he had no other choice "Fine. But let me leave a little something for them." Natsu says as he ignites both of his arms on fire. "With a flaming right hand, and a flaming left hand. When you combine the flames together!" Natsu says as he throws his hands together and raises them above his head, creating a massive fireball that illuminates everything around him.

" **Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells out as he pulls back and then throws the massive fireball towards the Uruk-hai. All of the Uruk-hai seeing this stop in their tracks and roar out while covering their eyes from the intense brightness, the fireball impacts and explodes taking many, many Uruk-hai at the breach out.

 _Back at the Gate…_

The Uruks charge forward again with the battering ram, this time they break through the gate making a hole in it as the Rohirrim soldier behind the door is driven through with the sharp end of the battering ram pushing him back, and is then pulled forward slamming his head against the gate as the Uruks pull the ram out.

"Brace the gate!" a Rohirrim soldier yells as then a few Uruk crossbowmen appear in the hole and open fire with their crossbows taking a few more Rohirrim out.

"Hold them!" the Rohirrim with bows return fire taking the crossbow Uruks out as then more Uruks from behind charge forward. "To the gate. Draw your swords!" Theoden says as he draws his sword and begins to move out, followed by Gamling, and a few more Rohirrim.

"Gray, stay here. I'm going down to the gate to help out." Erza says to Gray as she turns and starts running.

Back in the Deep Aragorn, Natsu, and the remaining Elves run up the long staircase in the back to get to the Keep, however the Uruk-hai are right on their tail still even following Natsu's attack. Aragorn turns back and blocks an Uruks sword then kicking and knocking it back down the stairs as Natsu jumps upwards and kicks with both his feet into another Uruks chest sending it back down as well. Natsu quickly picks himself back up as Aragorn turns around, the two continuing to run as the Uruks remain closely behind them as at the top Elven archers continue to rain arrows down on the endless swarm of Uruks coming through the breach.

Back at the Gate the Uruks continue to swarm through the hole, the Rohirrim giving everything they got to keep them from getting past as Theoden is at the front of it all taking down Uruk after Uruk. One Uruk reaches through and grabs Gamling by the neck, Theoden however notices this and quickly cuts the Uruk-hai's arm off making Gamling fall back. Suddenly an Uruk with a pike appears and drives it into Theoden's right shoulder driving him back a bit, Theoden holds his ground however as well as the pike as he then grabs a hold of a spear being passed up to him by one of his men. With a battle cry he drives it forward into the Uruks neck killing it as he then pulls the Uruk-hai's pike out, grunting in pain while doing so as Gamling catches and begins to pull him back "Make way!" Gamling shouts as then more Rohirrim charge forward and engage the Uruks.

Gamling places Theoden against the back wall "We cannot hold much longer!" he says, just as then the gate cracks open a bit more tearing up a bit above the hole. Erza suddenly appears rushing by Theoden and Gamling as she charges right through the Rohirrim and begins cutting down Uruks with her single sword, kicking one Uruk back through the hole and driving her sword into another one as it attempts to get past her. Aragorn, Gimli, and Natsu then appear as Aragorn drives his sword through an Uruk against the wall taking it out while Natsu charges forward and punches another Uruk across the face as it attempts to get past Erza who cuts down another Uruk.

"Natsu, get them back! I have an idea!" Erza says to Natsu.

"Got it, hey! Every one of you get back now!" Natsu yells as he starts pushing the Rohirrim back. Erza jumps back as the Uruks begin to charge through the hole **"Requip!"** Erza yells as she then requips into her Lightning Empress Armor and twirls her Spear of Lightning around. Throwing it forward as she then shoots a blast of lightning forward hitting the Uruks as the electricity surges from one Uruk to another taking out a few more even past the hole.

" **Requip!"** Erza yells again, this time requipping into her Adamantine Armor as she quickly launches herself forward, placing her shields together and against the gate before the Uruks can reach it as the Uruks begin pounding on her shield from the other side. "That oughta hold them but I can't stand here forever!" Erza says.

"We need to brace the gate again." Theoden says.

"How long would you need?" Aragorn asks.

"As long as you can give me." Theoden says.

"Gimli, Natsu!" Aragorn calls out to them as Gimli and Natsu follow Aragorn through a side door, the Rohirrim stand at the ready as the Uruk-hai continue to pound against Erza's shield to get through.

"How long can that shield hold?" Gamling asks Erza.

"The shields of my Adamantine Armor are tough, only a really powerful magical blast would be able to break through it. So as long as the Uruk-hai don't have a strong mage with them we should be good for now, least until they start attacking the walls and getting at us from behind." Erza replies.

"Timbers! Prepare to brace the gate on my command!" Theoden yells out.

* * *

Outside the gate the Uruks run up and continue pounding away at Erza's shields and the gate to try and break through; off to the side along the ledge of the rocks, a side door opens up as from it Aragorn, Gimli, and Natsu quietly emerge and make their way out from it. On the walls a Rohirrim fires his arrow down taking out another Uruk-hai. The three press themselves against the wall and shimmy their way along the ledge, Aragorn in front with Gimli between him and Natsu. Aragorn peeks out around the corner to see a massive number of Uruk-hai up against the door "Oh~, come on we can take them!" Gimli quietly says.

"Let me at those punks and teach them a lesson of what happens when they mess with a Dragon Slayer." Natsu says as he punches his fist into his other hand.

Aragorn looks back and down at Gimli "It's a long way." he says.

"So? I can make it." Natsu says raising his right eye wondering why Aragorn said that. Then noticing he was looking down at Gimli "Oh~. Does someone need some help?" Natsu humorously asks Gimli.

"Don't make me slam my axe into your face." Gimli says. Gimli then looks around and sees what Aragorn is talking about, he looks up at Aragorn and to the ground, loss for words as he tried to think of something. "Toss me." he says under his breathe.

"What?" Aragorn asks.

"Wait, what was that?" Natsu asks again in the same humorous tone.

Gimli growls "I cannot jump the distance! You'll have to toss me!" Gimli says raising his voice a bit but not too loudly.

Aragorn slowly nods his head as he puts his left arm around Gimli, when Gimli stutters and looks up at him "Don't tell the Elf." Gimli asks in a pleading tone.

"Not a word." Aragorn says. Aragorn then pulls as Gimli runs around him, helping to toss Gimli over onto the causeway as he lets out a battle cry knocking a few Uruks down. "I didn't agree not to say a thing." Natsu says with a toothy grin on his face as Aragorn looks at him. Aragorn rolls his eyes and then charges forward as he jumps forward and lets out a battle cry also landing on the causeway and knocking a few Uruks off.

"I'm all fired u~p!" Natsu yells out as he jumps forward and lands on the causeway.

As Aragorn and Gimli handle the Uruk-hai coming up the causeway, Natsu begins to deal with the remaining Uruk-hai pounding against the shields and gate. Lighting both his fists and feet on fire Natsu ducks underneath an Uruks sword and uppercuts it, then dodges to his right as another Uruk swings at him and slams his fist into the Uruks head sending it off the causeway. Natsu then launches his right knee upwards slamming it into an Uruks chin and then does a jumping roundhouse kick across the final Uruks face, finally clearing the gate of them as he gets rid of his flames and runs up to the gate.

"Hey, Erza! You're all clear!" Natsu yells as Erza hears this on the other side.

"Got it!" Erza replies as she pulls her shields apart and moves back "We're clear!" she yells. Theoden walks up and looks through the hole to see Aragorn, Gimli, and Natsu fighting the Uruks and holding them off.

"Shore up the door!" Theoden yells back.

"Make way!" a Rohirrim yells as he and a few others appear with wooden beams to reinforce the door.

"Follow me to the barricade!"

"Watch our backs!"

Down in the army of Uruks, a ballista is seen as an Uruk loads a harpoon with a rope attached to it into the siege weapon.

"Throw another one over here!"

"Higher!" Theoden orders as the Rohirrim place some of the beams against the door at an angle, and place others sideways to cover the hole in the gate.

Aragorn, Natsu, and Gimli stand back to back to back, continuously spinning around in a circle so each of them get a shot at the Uruks from the sides and front. Aragorn swings his sword, Natsu throws his arm out and fire claws the Uruks, and Gimli swings his axe.

Suddenly one of the Uruk-hai's ballista's are fired, the harpoon soars up high through the air and over the wall as the Rohirrim move aside to dodge it, the harpoon begins to get dragged back but then hooks onto the wall. Another ballista is fired and does the same thing as the Rohirrim rush to try and get the hooks off the wall. Gajeel appears walking over to one of the hooks in the wall, putting his right hand on it as he leans down, and bites down ripping a piece of it out as he then chews on the metal and swallows "Are you seriously eating at a time like this?!" Gray angrily questions Gajeel as he takes another bite.

Gajeel looks back with his mouth still full as he speaks "What? It helps me get some energy back for fighting doesn't it?"

Some Uruk-hai pull on some ropes and some others jump up onto a ladder, as then two massive sized ladders are lifted up forward into the air towards the high outer wall. Gajeel and Gray look forward and spot the ladders as Gajeel swallows his food "Well, nevermind. Snack times over." Gajeel says.

The ladders hit the wall as some latches on them fall forward attaching the ladders firmly to it. The Uruks begin to scale up the ladders as many of the Rohirrim, and surviving Elves that have joined them switch to close quarters and engage as the archers on the inner wall fire at them as well to support the others. Legolas who has restocked his arrows spots a third ladder being hoisted up towards them and brings an arrow out to deal with it, pulling back on his bow he takes aim and fires at one of the rope cables attached to the hooks. Snapping the rope in half as this causes the massive ladder to stop in the middle of the air, and then begin falling back down to the ground, making the Uruks cry out as the ladder crashes back on the ground crushing the Uruks others beneath it.

Gray ducks underneath an Uruks sword and puts his hand to the Uruks chest armor, freezing the Uruk solid in an instant **"Ice Make Sword!"** Gray yells as he creates a sword of ice in his right hand and turns around cutting across another Uruks chest taking it out. An Uruk jumps up at Gray from behind and brings its sword down, striking Gray's back as he cries out in pain, only to suddenly turn into ice and break into pieces. Confusing the Uruk as then Gray appears from its side and kicks it sending the Uruk over the wall, the Ice mage having of created an Ice Clone of himself. **"Ice Make Knuckle!"** Gray yells out as he slams his hands into the ground and summons a barrage of ice knuckles from beneath a group of Uruk-hai sending them flying into the air. Gajeel throws an Uruk against the wall, the Uruk attempts to headbutt him but only injures itself due to his iron scales as Gajeel then pushes him over the edge "Gihi, really funny when they try that." he says to himself.

"Hold fast the gate!" a Rohirrim soldier calls out as the Rohirrim just about finish reinforcing the gate as best as possible.

Aragorn, Gimli, and Natsu are still going at their attack strategy, swinging their weapons/arms from time to time keeping the Uruks at bay and taking those that charge them down. "Gimli! Aragorn! Natsu!" the three stop and look back at Theoden as his head looks through the last bit of hole in the gate at them "Get out of there!" he says.

An Uruk charges them from behind while they are distracted, when suddenly Erza appears in front of it in her Heaven's Wheel Armor from the side and cuts the Uruk down catching their attention back forward. **"Circle Sword!"** Erza yells out summoning a large group of swords and sending them forward taking out many more Uruk-hai on the causeway, Theoden seeing this boards up the last bit of hole.

Legolas appears at the top of the wall with a rope in hand "Aragorn!" he calls down. Aragorn turns and looks up as Legolas tosses the rope down, Aragorn grabs it and grabs a hold of Gimli as he jumps off the causeway and begins to get pulled up by Legolas and Gajeel who appears behind him to help out.

"Natsu! Grab on!" Erza yells as Natsu grabs her arm and she quickly flies up onto the wall with him. The Uruks have since then pushed back forward and are now back at pounding against the gate to try and break through.

The Uruks fire their ballista again, this time the hook impacts into a Rohirrim soldier sending him flying back crying out in pain. Aragorn and Gimli continue to get pulled up slowly as then the third ladder Legolas shot down before reappears and lands against the wall. The Rohirrim and Elves continue to hold, but it is obvious they are losing their hold on the wall as the Uruk-hai continue to scale the ladders. Finally Aragorn and Gimli reach the top, as Legolas, Natsu, Erza who has requipped back into her normal armor, and Gajeel help pull them up over the wall. A young Rohirrim soldier lets out a battle cry as he charges forward and swings his axe down on an Uruk, the Uruk-hai however catches it and headbutts the soldier, dazing him and then throwing him against the wall as the Uruk then socks him right in the face breaking his neck.

"Pull everybody back...Pull them back." Theoden says, regret in his voice as he begins to walk away.

"Fall back! Fall ba~ck!" Gamling yells out.

The Uruks on the causeway continue to bash against the gate, until finally they break through the gate and begin charging through "They've broken through! The castle is breached. Retreat!" Theoden yells out as quickly everyone follows the order and begins to run. Aragorn, Natsu, and the others on the outer wall rush towards the walkway connecting the outer wall to the courtyard.

"Fall back!"

"Retre~at!" Theoden yells out again.

Aragorn stops at the walkway and begins to direct the surviving Rohirrim and Elves across the walkway "Hurry! Inside. Get them inside!" Aragorn yells as he, Gimli, Natsu and the others run across the walkway.

"Into the keep!"

Legolas slows down a bit and lets loose a few arrows down onto the Uruk-hai before catching up as the Rohirrim and Elves run across the walkway into the courtyard. Down below the Uruks swarm up the stairs and are soon in the courtyard as the Rohirrim and Elves on the inner wall run around towards the Keep while some soldiers guard the stairs to try and hold the Uruks back until all the survivors can make it into the Keep.

"Quickly! Move! Everyone into the Keep!" Erza yells as Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel rush forward and begin punching and kicking away at the Uruk-hai in the courtyard while a few soldiers engage them as well.

" **Crushing Fang of the Fire Dragon!"**

" **Ice Make Lance!"**

" **Club of the Iron Dragon!"**

The three Fairy Tail mages yell releasing their respective attacks forward taking out a large group of Uruk-hai, though are only replaced as more continue to storm up the stairs. Erza runs back to the archway to the walkway and motions the soldiers through, as she looks around she sees now only Uruk-hai coming onto the walkway, jumping in front of the opening with the last soldier through she requips into her Morning Star Armor **"Photon Slicer!"** she yells throwing her two sabers forward and together releasing a massive energy blast taking out all of the Uruk-hai on the walkway.

"Erza!" Erza turns around to see Aragorn signaling her to pull back. Seeing that all of the Rohirrim and Elves that survived were inside she knew it was time to pull back herself, as well as Natsu and the others as they continued to fight against the incoming Uruk-hai.

"Natsu! Gray! Gajeel! Let's go!" Erza yells out as she requips into her normal armor.

Natsu jumps up and delivers a fire-coated kick across another Uruks face sending it flying into the wall as he, Gray, and Gajeel then turn around and start running up the stairs. Erza arrives at the foot of the stairs and turns around, the Uruks were charging towards her from the stairs, and the walkway. **"Requip!"** she yells, she was going to leave them one more present before she retreated. That present, was her requipping into her Purgatory Armor as she then swung her massive mace out in an arc, sending out a powerful wind blast that sent the Uruks flying back. Requipping into her normal armor once more she quickly turns and starts running up the stairs "Come on lets go! Lets go!" Aragorn calls out to the Fairy Tail mages as they rush through the door into the Keep allowing Aragorn and Legolas pull the doors close.

 _In Fangorn…_

Treebeard walks through the forest with the Hobbits and Fairy Tail mages on him again "I will leave you at the western borders of the forest. You can make your way north to your homeland from there. As for you two human females, you will stay with me until Gandalf comes back since your case is different from the Hobbits'" Treebeard says.

None of the four say a thing, after all they didn't want to be doing this but its not like they had any other choice now at the matter. Suddenly Pippin's expression changes into one of realization as he seems to think of something "Wait! Stop! Stop!" Pippin says catching Merry, Lucy, and Wendy's attention as well as Treebeard's as he stops.

"...Turn around. Turn around, take us south." Pippin says.

"South? But that will, lead you past Isengard." Treebeard says.

"Yes...Exactly." Pippin says as Merry, Lucy, and Wendy look at him wondering what he was going on about. "If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect." Pippin says.

"Hm~." Treebeard hums trying to think about what he just said. "That doesn't make sense to me."

"More like that doesn't make sense to any of us…" Lucy quietly says under her breath wondering what Pippin was saying as well.

"But then...you are very small. Perhaps you're right." Treebeard says as he takes in a deep breath "South it is, then. Hold on little ones." Treebeard says as he turns in the direction and begins to walk.

"I always like going south. Somehow it feels like going downhill." Treebeard says.

"Uh, what just happened?" Lucy says to the others.

"Pippin-san what are you thinking?" Wendy asks.

"Are you mad? We'll be caught?" Merry says.

"No we won't...Not this time." Pippin says, the look on his face showed that he knew what he was doing.

Lucy looks at him with her left eyebrow raised _"What in the world is he thinking about in that head of his?"_ Lucy wonders.

 _Meanwhile…_

Faramir, his Ithilien Rangers, along with the Hobbits, Exceeds, and a tied up Gollum walk/fly up over a grassy hill.

"Look!"

Arriving at the top the group then spots a massive city that lies in ruins, a wide river running in between the place as pillars of smoke rise into the air "Osgiliath burns!"

"Mordor has come."

The Ithilien Rangers continue forward as Faramir, Frodo, and the others look at the city "The Ring will not save Gondor." Frodo says as he then turns around and looks at Faramir "It only has the power to destroy. Please...let me go." Frodo pleads.

Faramir looks down at him, but ignores his words as he looks back at his men "Hurry." he says. One of the men grabs Frodo and drags him forward, another pushes Sam forward as Happy, Carla, and Lily just look back at the Rangers and know they need to keep moving forward as well as they do so reluctantly.

"Faramir! You must let me go!" Frodo cries out once again but to no avail.

 _Reaching the Outskirts of Fangorn…_

"And those little family of field mice that climb up sometimes, and they tickle me awfully." Treebeard continues to speak as the group begins to emerge out from the forest, however something has caught the attention of Merry, Pippin, Lucy, and Wendy as they look forward with shocked looks on their faces.

"They're always trying to get somewhere where they…" Treebeard then looks forward, and gasps in shock as his eyes widened.

In front of him, was the remains of a part of Fangorn that had been cut down by Saruman's orcs. Dead trees all over, not a single one standing except for the ones to their back which they emerged through. "Many of these trees were my friends. Creatures, I had known from nut and acorn." Treebeard says as sadness appears in the eyes of the other four.

"How horrible…" Wendy says hearing this from Treebeard and seeing everything around them.

"I'm sorry Treebeard." Pippin says looking down at him.

"I...I'm sorry for your loss Treebeard. I know this isn't a good time to bring it up, but what I said before, now you see. This is what will happen to the world if Saruman and Sauron are not defeated. Everything beautiful in this world, even your people, will be reduced to a barren wasteland." Lucy says in a saddened voice.

"They had voices of their own.' Treebeard continues to say, he then looks directly towards Isengard. The smoke rising from the fiery pits, the fire that was most likely burning using the remains of his tree friends from his forest. He could not stand for this!

"Saruman...A wizard should know better!" Treebeard says, the anger in his voice clear. Treebeard takes in a deep breathe, and then lets out a massive yell or roar into the air, one of which echoes for miles, and miles into the forest and air.

"There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men. For this treachery." Treebeard says as then a strange noise echoes off from some distance away behind the group off to their left.

Pippin and the others turn around "Look! The trees! They're moving!" Pippin says shocked to be seeing this as true enough they could see trees, moving by themselves going off somewhere in the distance very slowly. All of them groaning.

"A-Amazing…" Wendy says.

"What? But how?" Lucy says.

Merry looks down at Treebeard "Where are they going?" Merry asks.

"They have business with the Orcs. My business is with Isengard tonight…with rock and stone." Treebeard says.

Another sound draws the attention of Merry, Pippin, Lucy, and Wendy to their rear as they turn around and look at the trees, to see Ents, a lot more then what was at the Entmoot, begin to emerge from Fangorn. Lucy and Wendy looked at each other with opened mouths of joy as they then looked forward at Isengard with determined, and ready for a fight looks in their eyes. They, and Merry, now knew why Pippin had Treebeard come this way, and now, they knew what was about to happen.

"Yes…" Merry says.

"Come, my friends. The Ents are going to war." Treebeard says as he begins to march forward with his Ent brethren. "It is likely...that we go to our doom...Last march...of the Ents."

"As Natsu would say…" Lucy says.

"I'm all fired up!" Lucy and Wendy both say at the same time.


	13. Forth Eorlingas! The End of Isengard

_Osgiliath…_

Gollum is pushed onwards by an Ithilien Ranger with a sword to his back, behind them are the Hobbits who are also moved forward by Ithilien Rangers with hands to their shoulders as the Exceeds are now on the ground walking close to them. The group and the Ithilien Rangers walk through a small courtyard area as all around them soldiers of Gondor rush about or stand by at the ready. The group soon find themselves at the shoreline, the Rangers, Exceeds, and Hobbits move forward with their heads down as Gondor archers exchange fire with Orc archers across the river from the other side of the ruined city while massive boulders from catapults are shot only to land in the water.

"Faramir! Orcs have taken the eastern shore. Their numbers are too great. By nightfall we will be overrun." the Ithilien Ranger Madril says as he appears in front of Faramir and the others with more Rangers.

Suddenly Frodo's eyes widened as his breathing picks up, a look of terror in his eyes as Sam turns and sees this "Mr. Frodo?" Sam says as the Exceeds turn and look up at Frodo.

"It's calling to him Sam. His Eye is almost on me." Frodo says, his voice a whisper of horror.

"Frodo?" Happy says as he and the Exceeds begin to get worried for him.

"Hold on Mr. Frodo. You'll be alright." Sam says, though for some reason to Frodo his voice begins to fade. Until suddenly he can no longer hear him as he can see Sam's lips moving, saying something that he could not hear.

"Take them to my father." Faramir says as then the Rangers start walking forward with Sam and Frodo, three others nudge the Exceeds forward with their bows making the Exceeds reluctantly walk after them.

"Tell him Faramir sends a mighty gift...A weapon that will change our fortunes in this war." Faramir says as he looks down at Sam who looks back at him. Faramir turns to leave as the Rangers are about to make Sam and the others continue on, when Sam resists and turns back towards Faramir with an angered look in his eyes.

"Do you want to know, what happened to Boromir?" Sam says catching Faramir's attention. "Do you want to know why your brother died? He tried to take the Ring from Frodo, after swearing an oath to protect him! He tried to kill him! The Ring drove your brother mad!" Sam states.

Faramir looks at Sam, a shocked look on his face when suddenly "Watch out!" a massive boulder flies through the air and impacts into a tower, destroying it and sending the debris falling as Faramir and the others are all taken aback by it. "Do you really think having this weapon will change the tide of the war? Because if it doesn't then you're giving the enemy back what they want and then the war will change alright. And the enemy will win!" Carla says.

All of a sudden Frodo looks forward, his eyes soulless like he was under some sort of trance "Frodo?" Happy says.

"Hey, Frodo, what's wrong?" Lily asks.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam says.

Frodo does not respond however as he looks up "They're here...They've come…" Frodo says.

Faramir and the others look down at Frodo, when suddenly a familiar, terrifying screech resounds out in the air making everyone look up "NAZGUL!" Faramir yells out. Everyone looks up with terror in their eyes as soldiers immediately begin to scramble for cover.

In the skies above Osgiliath, the Nazgul appears riding on the back of its fellbeast as it begins looking around, like it knew the Ring was down below in the ruins of the city. Frodo's eyes looks up in the air still in the trance, Faramir sees this and quickly grabs pulling him away as Sam, and the Exceeds quickly follow after him. All of the soldiers continue to scramble for overhead cover, Gollum is lead to one with the Ithilien Ranger still holding onto his rope as Gollum whimpers aloud in terror. Faramir finds an overhead cover and quickly tosses Frodo against the wall inside "Stay here. Keep out of sight." he says as Sam and the Exceeds rush in as well into cover.

Faramir turns around "Take cover!" he yells out, ducking down as the Fellbeast roars out and passes by overhead.

 _Helm's Deep…_

The flags of Isengard are waved around in the air by the Uruk-hai on the walls as all over the place the Uruk-hai raise their weapons and roar out, their victory assured at this point as the battering ram is brought up the stairs to smash through the door to the Keep. The Uruk-hai rush forward behind and alongside the battering ram as it impacts into the door for the first time.

Inside some of the surviving Rohirrim, along with the members of Team Natsu, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli attempt to barricade the door as best as possible with whatever they can find in the room. Theoden is at the back being tended to by Gamling with his wound as he turns back towards the door "The fortress is taken. It is over." Theoden says, defeat in his eyes.

Aragorn turns and walks towards Theoden while Legolas and Natsu run to get a bench for the barricade "You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it." Aragorn states as Theoden continues to look at him with no hope.

Aragorn hands the bench off to Natsu and Legolas who rush back to place it against the door "They still defend it. They have **died** defending it." Aragorn continues to say.

The Uruks slam the battering ram against the door again. Inside the glittering caves all of the women and children are beginning to whimper and cry in a state of terror "They're breaking in!"

A sobbing woman hugs Eowyn who is also a bit worried herself.

"They're past the door!"

Aragorn walks past Theoden and Gamling looking towards the caves "Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" Aragorn asks. But does not receive a reply as he turns back to see Theoden still looking away, in the background Gajeel flips a table on its side knocking everything on it to the ground "Is there no other way?" Aragorn asks again.

Gamling looks at Aragorn "There is one passage. It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far the Uruk-hai are too many."

The Uruk-hai bring the battering ram back a few feet and charge forward again hitting it as the Rohirrim brace themselves against the door. Aragorn puts a hand on Gamling's shoulder "Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance!" Aragorn says.

"So much death." Theoden says catching Aragorn and Gamling's attention.

"What can Men do against such reckless hate?" he questions as the Uruks hit the door again.

"You wanna know what you don't want to do?" Natsu states as he walks over "Is just give up and die without giving one last fight."

Legolas, Gimli, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel join them standing a few feet away "The way I see things right now. If I'm going to go down, I'm going to take down as many of these Uruk-hai bastards as I can before I draw my last breathe. I'm not going to just go sit in a damn corner and accept my fate! I'm going to show them what it means to be a mage of Fairy Tail! Just like you should show them what it means to be a warrior of Rohan!" Natsu states.

Aragorn, Theoden, and Gamling look at Natsu as does the others as Aragorn takes in his words and looks at Theoden "Ride out with me...Ride out and meet them." Aragorn says.

"For death and glory." Theoden says realizing what he was implying.

"For Rohan...For your people. Natsu is right, let us show them that we will not go down without a fight." Aragorn says as the two approach each other.

"The sun is rising." Gimli suddenly says.

Aragorn looks up at one of the nearby windows and sees a ray of light beginning to shine through, Gandalf's words play back in his mind of what he had said before he left _"Look to my coming, at first light on the fifth day. At dawn...look to the East."_ Aragorn looks back at Theoden.

"Yes...Yes...The horn of Helm Hammerhand...shall sound in the Deep…" Theoden turns around and looks back at everyone, a reinvigorated look of determination in his eyes "One last time."

"Yes!" Gimli says as he turns and runs up a nearby spiral staircase.

The door is hit again, this time cracks appear on it indicating that it was about to be breached soon. Gray, and Gajeel exchange looks with one another as does Erza and Natsu as they nod at each other "Let this be the hour, when we draw swords together." Theoden says to Aragorn.

Gimli runs up the stairs and arrives at the top of the tower where a giant horn is held in place atop a stone stand. Back down below, Theoden, Aragorn, Team Natsu, Gamling, and a few Rohirrim are now on their horses at the back of the room. "Fell deeds awake." Theoden says as the door is hit again knocking more supports off it "Now for wrath…" Aragorn draws his sword "...now for ruin, and a red dawn." Theoden finishes as he places his helmet on.

Back up the tower Gimli blows into the horn, the booming sound resounds out into the air through the air holes near the foot of the tower, as just then the Uruks charge forward and break down the door, forcing the Rohirrim near it to pull back as the Uruks begin to rush in.

"Forth Eorlingas!" Theoden yells out as the Rohirrim pull out their swords. Legolas with his dagger already out, Erza having her own sword ready, Gray an Ice Sword, and Gajeel his right arm transformed. Natsu doesn't have anything but nonetheless is seen ready to charge as then the Rohirrim let out a battle cry and the group spur their horses forward. Some of the Uruks get out of the way while the others are trampled down beneath the horses; coming out the door Theoden and the others begin swinging their swords down at the Uruks, trying to cut down as many as they could as they made their way down the stairs and then turned to the right to go down the other stairs towards the gate. As his horse turned **"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells as he sends out a blast of fire from his mouth into an arc, setting ablaze pretty much the majority of the Uruk-hai in the courtyard and even a few on the walls as they go into a state of panic and try to put it out.

Going down the stairs towards the gate everyone continues swinging their swords away at the Uruks, taking as many of them down as they pass by as the Uruk-hai move aside to not get trampled beneath the horses while back in the tower Gimli continues blowing into the horn. The riders then begin riding down the causeway, trampling or knocking over the Uruk-hai charging up it as they gallop down the causeway towards the small remains of the Uruk-hai army. They soon find themselves in the midst of the Uruks as they begin swinging their swords wildly around, cutting down Uruk-hai after Uruk-hai, Natsu and Gajeel both stand up on their horses and launch themselves forward into the air, soon landing in the middle of the entire Uruk-hai army.

" **Lightning Fire Dragon Mode!/Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!"**

An explosion of fire, lightning, and shadow erupts from the middle of the Uruks sending many flying, as then from the explosion both Natsu and Gajeel are shown standing completely unharmed. But now with Natsu being surrounded by fire and lightning, and Gajeel his body covered in iron but with shadows floating around him. The Uruks are unfazed by the two Dragon Slayer's however and charge towards them.

" **Iron Fist of the Lightning Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells out as he throws his left fist across his chest while turning his body, striking the first Uruk and sending a powerful blast of fire and lightning past it engulfing many more Uruks as another explosion occurs taking many of them out.

" **Club of the Iron Shadow Dragon!"** Gajeel yells out as he throws his right arm across his chest while turning, transforming his arm into an Iron Club as shadows swirl around it and then extends it outwards slamming it into an Uruk and sending it backwards into more of its comrades while knocking many others aside or into the air.

" **Ice Make Saucer!"** Gray yells from the back of his horse as he creates a giant ice disk which then begins to spin rapidly in place before launching forward and sending more Uruks flying.

Erza continues to cut down Uruks around her from her horse as she cuts down one on her right and then drives her sword through another on her left. Aragorn cuts down another Uruk and another one when his attention is drawn upwards to a nearby hillside where he sees a figure in white on a white horse as it rears back with the rising sun to their backs. It was…

"Gandalf." Aragorn quietly says.

Natsu, and Gajeel who were still back to back looked up at the hill, as did Erza, Gray, Theoden, and pretty much all of the Uruk-hai and Rohirrim. Gandalf meanwhile stared down at the remains of Helm's Deep and the Uruk-hai army where he saw Aragorn, Natsu and the others fighting in the middle of the enemy army. "Theoden King stands alone." Gandalf says, when Eomer then appears from behind him looking down as well.

"Not alone." Eomer says, unsheathing his sword and raising it into the air "Rohirrim!" he shouts. Just then from behind the two more Rohirrim on horseback appear and stand beside and behind them with their weapons at the ready. Seeing this the Uruk-hai roar out.

"Eomer." Theoden says happy to see him.

"To the king!" Eomer yells out as he raises his sword.

To the king!" All of the Rohirrim begin to yell out in a battle cry as then all of the Rohirrim and Gandalf begin to charge forward down the massive hillside, revealing that there was a lot, lot more Rohirrim behind at the rear coming up and over the hilltop. The Uruk-hai that weren't engaging Theoden and the others began to move forward towards the hill, stopping at the foot of it as they lowered their pikes forward and roared out. However, the Rohirrim just kept on coming and coming, and more as well from over the hill. As they got closer, the sun finally began to rise up over the hill, the brightness of the light blinding the Uruks and causing a bit of disorganization among their ranks.

Gandalf let out a battle cry as then he, and the Rohirrim reinforcements clashed into the Uruk-hai, the horses jumping forward and past the pikes knocking and trampling over many Uruk-hai as the Rohirrim began to swing their weapons away. The Uruks were now in total chaos as the Rohirrim just kept on coming and coming, the Uruk-hai attempt to fight back as best as possible as Eomer swings his sword striking down and stabbing two Uruks while Gandalf begins to swing his staff hitting many of them in the face and head.

"Haha~! Alright! Let's give it to them!" Natsu yells out, turning and punching another Uruk in the chest sending it flying back into more of its comrades.

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Inside the Keep…_

While the battle raging outside was happening, there was a battle raging inside as well. While many of the Uruks chose to go after the riders, many more of them continued their assault into the Keep where now Gimli, and the surviving Rohirrim, and Elves continued to give it their all to defeat the Uruk-hai. Amongst the survivors was the young boy Haleth, son of Hama, as he raised his sword to block an Uruks sword, and managed to push it aside as he then brought his sword back upwards and slashed the Uruk across the neck taking it out. Haldir was also amongst those fighting, albeit with only one hand since the other was still wounded as he ducked underneath an Uruks sword and drove his blade into its chest. Gimli let out a battle cry as he swung his battle axe taking down three Uruks with the single swing.

As the soldiers continued their battle, off to the side a lone Rohirrim unfortunately found himself cut down by an Uruk as the Uruk then swung its arm forward, signaling to a few other Uruk-hai to follow after him as then the small group made their way past the fight, and towards the entrance to the Glittering Caves. One of the Rohirrim spotted this however "Stop those Uruk-hai! They're going after the women and children!" he yells as a few Rohirrim and Elves attempt to give pursuit, only to be cut off by more Uruk-hai as they are forced to engage them.

 _Inside the Glittering Caves…_

The Uruk-hai break through and appear at the entrance of the caves as they roar out. The sight of the monsters causes all of the women and children to scream in terror as the mothers clutched their children tightly, and any and all family and friends hugged one another with terror in their eyes. One of the Uruks began to approach the civilians, behind one of the stalagmites in front of the Uruk however was Eowyn, who held a sword in her hands. There was a look of fear in her eyes as she tried to keep calm and quiet so the Uruk did not hear her. She had been lucky that she at least brought a sword into the caves in the first place before going in, just in case. And it seems she was right to have done so.

The Uruk walked past the stalagmite as then with a battle cry Eowyn swung her sword out and decapitated the Uruk, she then turned around "Run!" she yelled. All of the people listened and began to run farther back into the cave, the remaining Uruk-hai charged forward towards Eowyn who raised her sword. Ready to defend herself, and put her training with Erza to use. The first Uruk reached her and swung its sword down, Eowyn ducked to her right and swung her sword at the Uruks leg cutting it off and making it fall onto its back. She quickly recovered and while doing so swung her sword upwards cutting up another Uruk-hai's body and face. Another Uruk brought its sword down at Eowyn who ducked forward to her left and drove her sword through the Uruk, quickly pulling it out and twisting around as she swung and cut down another Uruk.

Eowyn raised her sword forward, her breathing at a normal pace as to not overexert herself as a few Uruk-hai still remained before her. All of them ready to charge forward at any moment to slay her, but she would not let that happen. Deep in the back of her mind, she thought back to before the battle, back to what Erza had said to her on why maybe it was a good reason she stay in the caves _"...Because you never know, if that task of yours will might just save people's lives."_ And now, right here at this very moment. It looked like Erza's words had come true. And now, it was time she made sure she kept to her mission, in making sure all the women and children were cared for...by taking out these Uruk-hai. With a battle cry Eowyn charged forward.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

 _At Isengard…_

An Ent that stands atop the ruins of a part of the wall surrounding Isengard, rips a chunk of it out and hurls it forward into the air. Revealing a few other Ents on the wall doing the same thing, as well as more Ents inside Isengard wreaking havoc and killing Orcs as many more continue to arrive over the destroyed wall. The thrown rock hits the ground and rolls forward squashing a few Isengard Orcs beneath it. The Orcs attempt to put up a resistance, but find themselves severely underpowered and without many weapons that can do anything to the walking trees. Two orcs rush forward and pull arrows back on their bows, only for a short-statured Ent to jump and land right on top crushing them beneath its feet sending other Orcs nearby into a panicked retreat. Another Ent swings its arm sending another Orc flying while another Orc is kicked away, and another crushed beneath the towering Ent's foot.

Another Ent pulls down a wooden tower and crushes a few Orcs beneath the logs, another Ent is seen swinging an Orc back and forth across the ground by its leg, sending Orcs flying one by one. A group of Orcs have a chain wrapped around another Ent and manage to pull it down to the ground, another group of Orcs quickly begin chopping away at the Ent with axes as it manages to throw one of them off. Nearby Treebeard seeing this raises a massive rock and with a battle cry throws it forward, the rock hitting the ground rebounding upwards a few feet into the air taking out all the Orcs on and around his fellow Ent.

"Yes!" Pippin cheers.

"Alright!" Lucy yells out as well. Atop Treebeard, her, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin throw rocks of their own at any Orcs near and around them. Treebeard growls out and then looks down, an Orc beneath him notices Treebeard looking at him and turns to run, but is immediately stepped on by the Ent.

Suddenly Saruman emerges out onto his balcony with a horrified look on his face, as all he sees below and around him is a massive army of Ents destroying all of the structures and killing all the Orcs. Pippin throws a rock and hits an Orc on the head sending it falling back and over the edge into a pit "A hit. A fine hit." Treebeard says.

Pippin tosses another rock down to Merry who catches it and throws it knocking out another Orc with three more behind it. "Not bad, but let me show you two how it's done." Lucy says as she picks a rock up and throws it. Hitting another Orc in the face as the rock then ricochets into another nearby Orcs face taking them both out "Yes! A two-for-one!" Lucy cheers out.

A large group of Orcs charge forward towards Treebeard "Hang on Mr. Treebeard. I got them. **Roar of the Sky Dragon!"** Wendy yells out as she sends her hurricane-like Sky Dragon Roar blast forward taking out many Orcs and sending them flying.

"Well now. Aren't you just full of surprises little one." Treebeard says.

"That's Wendy for yah. She may be small but she packs a punch that no one sees coming." Lucy says.

Wendy giggles and blushes a bit "Thank you Lucy-san."

Two Ents push/pull a tower, sending it toppling over into a pit with the Orcs on it. Another Ent has an Orc in both his hands as he slams their heads together. Another group of Orcs, these ones archers have flaming arrows as they raise them and release towards an Ent, hitting him and lighting the Ent aflame as he cries out and begins to run around in a panic. Saruman continues to walk around holding onto the railing of his balcony, looking out at everything that he had worked hard for, now being destroyed as now even a few Ents are throwing boulders at the tower of Orthanc, but cause no damage to it.

Meanwhile up in the nearby mountain "Break the dam!" an Ent yells out as another one grabs a hold of two massive wooden beams planted and held against a massive stone dam and tears them off. "Release, the river!"

The Ent begins to walk away as water begins pouring out through the rocks until eventually the entire dam collapses, taking with it the Orcs on top as well as the wooden structures connected to it. The built up water begins rushing out destroying many more wooden structures and washing many Orcs away until it then begins to make its way down the mountain into Isengard. Saruman turns and looks at this with a grim look in his eyes as the water begins to rush into and through Isengard.

"Pippin! Hold on!" Merry says.

"Wendy, same!" Lucy says as the four quickly grab a hold of Treebeard and prepare to brace themselves for the fast approaching water that will impact into Treebeard. The massive amount of water violently sweeps through Isengard, taking with it the wooden structures, and the Orcs who hopelessly attempt to run away only to be caught and swept into it as the Ents hold their ground and brace themselves for the oncoming impact.

"Hold on, little ones!" Treebeard says as the water hits him, the powerful force of the water knocking him back a little but luckily he manages to catch his footing and plant himself firmly in place as the other Ents also succeed in holding their ground. The Ent that was on fire before rushes forward and quickly leans forward, putting the fire covering it out. The Orcs continue to run away but to no avail, trying to climb onto various wooden structures with the hopes they will hold or float with it, or even jumping/carefully scaling down the walls to try and get into the pits for safety. Though no matter what they do the structures are destroyed and washed away, and those trying to get down into the pits are caught up in the water as it begins to pour into there as well causing even more destruction and washing even more Orcs away.

Saruman continued to look around, he, he just could not believe what was happening before his very eyes. Everything, all the work, and all his Orcs, destroyed, killed, and washing away.

 _Back at Osgiliath…_

Frodo still seemed to be under the trance of the One Ring as he began walking forward, Sam, and the Exceeds noticing this "Frodo?" Lily says.

"What are you doing?" Sam asks.

Frodo however ignored them and continued to walk "Frodo!" Happy yells out.

"What're you doing?!" Carla calls out, no response.

The Nazgul and its fellbeast continue to fly in the sky, looking for **it**. Frodo walks out from his cover as the Gondor soldiers around pay no attention to him and continue to try and seek cover from the Nazgul "Where are you going?!" Sam calls out.

Next thing, Frodo stands on top of a bridge, right out in the open before coming to a stop in the middle of it and looking forward. The Fellbeast and Nazgul appear before him, the Fellbeast flapping its wings to lift itself up into the air as the Nazgul stares right at Frodo, who stares right back at him and then raises the Ring to show it. Faramir from his cover peeks out around the corner, and spots what Frodo is doing. The Fellbeast begins to slowly descend down towards Frodo while opening up its claws, the flapping of its massive wings blowing Frodo's hair and cloak back as Frodo then closes his eyes and begins to put the Ring on. Sam calls out to Frodo, his voice barely audible as he runs up the stairs to the bridge as fast as he can.

Before Frodo can put the Ring on, Happy and Carla fly up to him and quickly grab a hold of his arms and pull them away as Sam then comes in and pulls Frodo back taking Happy and Carla with them. The Fellbeast closes its claws down but misses the Hobbit, just as then Lily flies straight up towards the monster and shifts into his Battle Form, his Musica Sword already in hand as he lets out a battle cry and drives it into the beast, at the same time as Faramir releases an arrow and hits the creature. Both attacks cause the Fellbeast to cry out in pain and begin flapping its wings backwards to retreat. Lily pulls his sword out and floats backwards while keeping his eyes on the Fellbeast as it continues to retreat, until it is at a far enough distance to make him turn around and quickly fly down to check on the others.

As for the others, Frodo, Sam, Happy, and Carla grunt/cry out in pain as they roll down the steps of the stairs and then off the side, hitting the ground as Happy and Carla are launched back and away from the two Hobbits sliding a bit across the ground. Sam and Frodo roll one more time until Sam finds himself pinned to the ground by Frodo who pushes himself up and with a cry of anger pulls his shortsword out and holds it at Sam's throat, a crazed look in his eyes. Both of them begin to catch their breath, tears go down Sam's face as he looks up at Frodo, just as Lily arrives and lands between Happy and Carla who look forward while on their hands and knees, worried looks in the three Exceeds eyes.

"It's me." Sam says, just as then Frodo's senses begin to return to him and he begins to realize what he's doing "It's your Sam...Don't you know your Sam?" Sam asks.

Frodo soon regains full control of himself, and realizes what he is doing as a terrified look comes to his face. Frodo falls back against the wall of the archway and drops Sting. Happy, Carla, and Lily let out sighs of relief as Sam also lets one out and begins to sit back up slowly. Frodo begins to shake his head slowly "I can't do this Sam." Frodo says.

"I know. It's all wrong." Sam says as he begins crying and pushes himself back up "By rights we shouldn't even be here." Sam says. Just as suddenly Gollum appears from nowhere behind him, still whimpering a bit and his hands binded as he, along with the Exceeds who walk up behind Sam and stop, watch him look out a nearby window and then approach it. He then leans forward against its side "But we are." Sam says as he watches the Nazgul and Fellbeast fly away, the sun beginning to break through the clouds to shine on Osgiliath.

"It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end...because how could the end be happy?"

 _Helm's Deep…_

The Uruk-hai begin to retreat _"How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?"_ The Rohirrim and everyone else continue to fight those that do not run, but still, seeing the majority of the enemy force retreating, Theoden cannot help but yell "Victory! We have victory!"

" _But in the end, it's only a passing thing...this shadow."_ Gandalf knocks out another Uruk with his staff and looks at the retreating Uruk-hai as the Rohirrim cheer out and begin to give chase. Aragorn watches as well as the Uruk-hai retreat, Natsu slams his fire and thunder coated fist into the back of an Uruk-hai knocking it forward straight into the ground. Landing crouched down as he then looks forward and gives off a massive toothy grin.

 _Isengard…_

The water continues sweeping through Isengard _"Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer."_ Lucy, Wendy, Pippin, and Merry look on in awe as the water destroys everything evil around them, the water begins calming down as the Ents continue to hold their ground. _"Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something."_ Saruman begins backing up from the balcony back into his tower with horror in his eyes.

" _Even if you were too small to understand why."_ the water begins to reach and has nearly all of Isengard covered as the fires of the pits are put out and white smoke rises from them. _"But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now."_

 _Osgiliath…_

Sam continues to stare out the window "Folk in those stories...had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't. They kept going...because they were holding onto something."

"...What are we holding on to Sam?" Frodo asks.

Sam looks down at Frodo and begins to approach him, the Exceeds look at the two Hobbits, heartfelt looks in their eyes, even Gollum has it. Sam picks Frodo up onto his feet "That there's some good in this world Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for." Sam replies.

Gollum begins to lower his head, a saddened look now appearing in his eyes as the Exceeds continue to watch Sam helps Frodo get over his feeling of defeat that he could not do this anymore after what he just did. Tears appear in Frodo's eyes, as from nearby Faramir is seen having of listened in on the whole thing as he begins to approach them. The other Ithilien Rangers also appear around the group as the Hobbits and Exceeds look up at Faramir, Faramir kneels down as one of his men have his hand on Sam's shoulder, waiting for the order to start taking him to Faramir's father.

"I think at last we understand one another, Frodo Baggins." Faramir says bringing surprised looks to Sam and the Exceeds faces, cause if they were understanding what Faramir was saying...

"You know the laws of our country, the laws of your father." Madril says from behind Faramir as Faramir stands up and turns to him "If you let them go your life will be forfeit." Madril says with a worried look.

Faramir stares at his second-in-command "Then it is forfeit." Faramir says as now Frodo is also surprised by what he and the others are hearing "Release them." Faramir orders. Gollum's binds are cut, and Sam moves the Ranger's hand on his shoulder off.

 _Back at Helm's Deep…_

" **Roar of the Lightning Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells releasing his secondary form's Dragon Roar, blasting a combo of fire and lightning taking out many Uruk-hai.

" **Roar of the Iron Shadow Dragon!"** Gajeel yells doing the same thing as he releases a massive blast combo of Iron and Shadow taking more Uruk-hai out.

" **Ice Make Ice Geyser!"** Gray yells slamming his hands onto the ground having of dismounted his horse, summoning up a large tower of ice spikes that impale and send many Uruks flying.

" **Requip!"** Erza yells jumping off her horse as she is engulfed in light. Suddenly a massive whirlpool appears sucking in and sending many Uruks flying up and into the air as it is revealed Erza has now requipped into her Sea Empress Armor and swung her Crystal Sword out to summon the attack.

The Uruk-hai are all now in full retreat with the Rohirrim giving chase, Natsu, and Gajeel power down from their secondary mode abilities and jump back onto their horses as does Gray, and Erza who requips back into her normal armor so they can join in. However suddenly, the Rohirrim, Aragorn, Natsu and the others notice that the Uruk-hai are now running towards a massive forest that has seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. "Stay out of the forest!" Eomer yells riding in front of everyone to stop them as they does so.

"Keep away from the trees!" Eomer yells again making his horse come to a halt as he turns and looks towards the retreating Uruk-hai who begin to run into the forest without a thought. Everyone holds their position and watch as the Uruks continue to run in.

"Hm? Wait a minute, was that forest there before?" Gray suddenly questions.

"Now that you mention it. I don't remember that being there." Erza says.

"You're both crazy. I'm sure that forest has been there this whole time. I mean come, what did the trees move there themselves or something?" Gajeel questions.

As the last of the Uruks disappear into the trees a strange noise begins to come out from the forest, and all of a sudden the trees begin moving. All that is heard next are the terrified roars of the Uruks as the trees keep on moving around until eventually everything subsides, and the Uruks are heard no more. Everyone looks on in awe and fear seeing this, even the Fairy Tail mages are a bit taken aback by this "I would say...yes. Yeah they moved there by themselves." Natsu says.

Meanwhile back in the Keep, Gimli, Haldir, Haleth, and all the surviving Rohirrim and Elves look around themselves, the dead bodies of Uruks all over the room. And considering there were no more coming in, they could only imagine what had happened and were overjoyed because of it. In the Glittering Caves the women and children began to reconvene back towards the entrance of the cave, near the entrance Eowyn was seen standing amongst the dead bodies of the Uruks she had slain as she caught her breath and looked around. She had survived her first ordeal of actual combat.

Sometime later the civilians began to walk outside as the surviving soldiers greeted them, the fathers, and sons who had survived the battle were greeted in open arms by their loved ones as others looked for their own loved ones...but would only come to learn of the tragic deaths of the many who were slain fighting for them. Aragorn walked up the stairs and was greeted by Eowyn who was happy to see him alive as the two hugged each other. Pulling away Eowyn then looked over at Erza who walked up the stairs as well, the two looked at each other before Eowyn walked over and hugged her as well which Erza returned.

Time passed by. The dead Rohirrim and Elves were gathered together to be buried, Haldir and the remainder of his forces bid their farewell to Aragorn, Natsu, and the others who thanked them for their help and said their condolences to their fallen as the Elves began their long journey back home. Down in the Deep the Rohirrim were still at work taking care of the dead Uruk-hai as they placed bodies into a pile to burn them in. Legolas approached Gimli who sat down on an Uruk corpse smoking a pipe, stopping Legolas fiddled with the top of his bow "Final count...forty-two." Legolas says looking at Gimli.

"Forty-two?" Gimli says sounding a bit surprised...keyword a **bit**. "Oh. That's not bad for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling." Gimli says sounding a bit too cocky, a tone that Legolas took notice of as he eyed him "Heh, I myself am sitting pretty on forty-three." Gimli says.

Suddenly in a split second, Legolas pulls out an arrow, aims, and fires. Hitting the Uruk that Gimli was sitting on right between his legs as Gimli looked back up at him with a questioning look. "Forty-three." Legolas says with a grin on his face.

"He was already dead." Gimli says.

"He was twitching." Legolas notes.

"He was twitching...because he's got my axe **embedded** in his **nervous system!"** Gimli states while moving his axe, which was indeed embedded into the side of the Uruks head as moving the weapon made the Uruks body twitch a bit.

"Don't know why you guys are trying." the two turned to see Natsu, and Gajeel walking towards them "Cause I think it's pretty obvious who got the most kills overall." Natsu says.

"Yeah, me." Gajeel says pointing at himself with a toothy smirk.

"Yeah...wait what? The hell **you** did! **I** blew away more of those bastards then you did by a longshot!" Natsu angrily declares looking at Gajeel.

"What are you talking about?! My Roar attacks hit first each and every time meaning all those kills were mine!" Gajeel declares back staring towards Natsu angrily.

"Yeah well guess who got a lot more action, I did when I fought on that causeway with Aragorn and Gimli! And then when I blew all those damn Uruks in the courtyard away during the charge!" Natsu retorted pointing at himself.

"I think someone's just a little jealous that they lost." Gajeel mockingly says crossing his arms.

"Yeah, and he's a whiny little Iron Dragon Slayer named Gajeel dumbass!" Natsu says with a serious toothy grin on his face.

"HUH?! Want to say that again to my face, Salamander!" Gajeel questions. The two get in each other's face and begin pushing against each other's forehead while groaning with annoyance and anger.

"So you two were having a little competition huh?" the two, along with Legolas and Gimli looked to see Gray approaching them with his hands in his pockets. "Yeah?" Natsu says a bit suspicious on the way he said it.

"What's it to yah Ice Princess?" Gajeel questions.

"Hm. Oh nothing. Just here to let the both of you know that if anyone got the most kills during that battle. It was me." Gray says as he points at himself with a cocky smile.

"THE HELL YOU DID!" Both Natsu and Gajeel angrily yell getting into Gray's face.

And just like that the three male Fairy Tail mages begun to brawl, punching and kicking each other forming a dust cloud around them with their heads popping out every once in a while. Legolas, Gimli, and a few Rohirrim watch the scene unfold with confused looks in their eyes, a bit surprised that the three still had some energy left in them, and a bit confused on why they were fighting each other. Legolas and Gimli however were also a bit confused on them fighting since they both felt they were going a bit too far in their competition, Legolas looks at Gimli "Let's just agree on a tie shall we?"

"Fine with me." Gimli immediately says as Legolas turns and walks away while Gimli continues to sit on the Uruk.

 _Isengard…_

The water now calmly covers all of Isengard with the sun shining through the breaking clouds, all of the Ents stand in place looking towards Orthanc as debris of the structures lay motionless in the water with some items and debris floating around in the water here and there. From near the wall, Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin stand in the water and look towards Orthanc, more specifically towards the balcony "So guys, what do you think? I think we made him pretty mad after what we just pulled." Lucy says with her hands to her hips.

"Well I would say he definitely doesn't look too happy now does he?" Merry says.

"Not too happy at all Merry." Pippin says.

"It looks like even a powerful wizard such as him knows when he's defeated." Wendy says as on the balcony Saruman, and Grima are seen looking out at their situation below with shocked looks on their faces.

"I think he's just afraid to try anything because our favorite little Sky Dragon Slayer is around to kick his ass if he does so." Lucy says as she rubs Wendy's head messing her hair up a bit. Wendy covers her head to stop Lucy as the two girls proceed to laugh a bit.

"Still, I suppose the view would be quite nice from up there." Merry says.

"Oh yes. It's a quality establishment. I hear the staff are very good." Pippin says.

"Hm~. Now that I think about it, I wonder what the inside of that place looks like? Doesn't look like it could really house a whole lot of stuff since it's all...thin, pointy, and...stuff…" Lucy says with her right hand cupping her chin and her left hand under her elbow.

Unknown to Pippin, Merry looks at him from behind and raises his left hand, flattening it out as he then moves it forward slowly to the top of Pippin's head, to find that he is now shorter than him like he originally was making Merry grin gleefully. Lucy and Wendy who stand behind the two take notice of this and look at each other with humorous smiles on their faces trying to contain their laughter. Pippin however seems to notice something as he turns around as Merry was pulling his hand back, making Merry quickly act like he was just getting something out of his hair.

"What are you doing?" Pippin asks.

"Nothing." Merry says "The world's back to normal, that's all." Merry says.

Lucy and Wendy can't help but giggle a little bit under their breath as Pippin turns and looks at them, the two notice this and quickly look away acting like nothing was going on. Pippin decides to ignore this as he looks back forward "No it isn't." Pippin takes in a deep breath "I'm starving." He says.

"Good luck trying to find something decent around here." Merry says as Pippin hums in agreement. As Wendy looks to her left, she spots something floating in the water and picks it up, finding it to be an apple. She smells it, it was a good apple. Wendy turns and shows Lucy the apple as Lucy looks at it wondering where it came from, taking it from Wendy and looking at it to see that it was indeed a good apple. Something she would've least expected in a place like this with Orcs all over the place and whatnot.

"Probably only dead rats and moldy bread." Merry says as behind the two Hobbits the two girls take notice of more apples floating by them. One of which floats up to Pippin's left side as he turns and takes notice of it, grabbing it and looking up as he also wonders where it came from. Turning he sees the other apples as well and looks at Lucy and Wendy. The three become overjoyed to see some real food and immediately begin grabbing all the apples they can, catching Merry's attention as he turns wondering what they're doing, and then also takes notice of the apples. The girls and Pippin begin following the trail of floating apples, picking up more as they can until suddenly Pippin comes upon a floating chicken and immediately discards the apples for it.

Pippin then comes across a basket with more apples in it as Merry grabs a few apples himself, Pippin puts the chicken in the basket as Merry puts the apples in as well and then comes across a bottle with wine in it. The four then find themselves entering a room inside the wall and look forward, stopping in their tracks at what they see. Their eyes widening in awe with open smiles on their faces as the hobbits and Fairy Tail girls find themselves in what appears to be a storeroom, filled to the teeth with everything they could imagine from fruits, vegetables, cheese, bottled up food and drinks, and meat. On shelves or being hung in the air.

"Saruman's storeroom!" Merry says as Pippin and the girls begin laughing.

"Yes! We're not going to starve!" Lucy cheers while throwing her hands into the air. "...Wow I sounded like Natsu there for a moment and I don't know if that's bad or what." Lucy says since she did indeed sound like Natsu. Especially since she knew that every time there was food around that Fire Dragon Slayer would scarf as many plates as he could down, it kind of amazed her that he could eat so much and yet retain that physically fit body of his.

Just then two certain barrels seem to catch the attention of Merry and Pippin, on the barrels is a paper with the words _South Farthing_ on it along with a drawing of some brown leaves. "I don't believe it." Pippin says in awe.

"It can't be." Merry says, for some reason light was reflecting off the water into their faces illuminating them as they stared at the two barrels.

"Hm? What is it?" Wendy asks the two as she and Lucy take notice of them being drawn towards the barrels. Pippin grabs one of the barrels and opens the top, revealing a barrel filled with nothing but dead brown leaves? Nevertheless the Hobbits seem all but excited and awed to see it "It is!" Pippin says looking at Merry.

"Longbottom leaf." Merry says looking down at it, suddenly leaning down a bit and taking in a large whiff of its smell and lets out a satisfied sigh.

"Longbottom leaf?" Lucy and Wendy ask at the same time since they had no idea what the fuss was about.

"Longbottom leaf...Only the finest pipe-weed in South Farthing." Merry says.

"From our home." Pippin says explaining it a bit more to the girls.

"Pipe-weed...so smoking?" Lucy asks narrowing her eyes a bit, wondering why out of all the food and drinks in the storeroom they were excited over some dead leaves that could be used for smoking.

"It's perfect. One barrel each." Pippin says ignoring Lucy as he hands the barrel in his hands off to Merry, and then grabs the other. But then an expression of realization comes to his face as he looks forward "Unless, you girls want some as well perhaps?" Pippin asks.

"Does it look like we smoke? And hello, Wendy's only twelve here so a definite no." Lucy says a bit shocked that he would even ask that.

"Very true." Pippin says as he is about to open his barrel again, when "Wait."

He then looks at Merry "Do you think we should share it with Treebeard?" Pippin asks.

" _Did he seriously just ask if they should share the smoking of dead leaves with a walking, talking tree?"_ Lucy questions in her head with narrowed deadpanned eyes.

"Share it?" Merry asks, turning away for a second before looking back at Merry "No. No." Merry says as he then picks up a few leaves "Dead plant and all that. Don't think he'd understand."

Merry then leans forward and whispers to Pippin "Could be a distant relative."

"...Oh...I get it." Pippin says tapping his nose for some reason "Don't be hasty." Pippin says as a mischievous grin comes to his face.

Now both Wendy and Lucy are looking at them with narrowed, deadpanned looks in their eyes and on their face _"They're hopeless…"_

Just then Merry takes a long pipe from his jacket "Okay, just pull a pipe randomly from nowhere why don't you. Seriously have you had that on you since the beginning of this whole thing?" Lucy questions.

"Exactly." Merry says as he crunches a few leaves and places them into the pipe, smacking his lips on it before taking it away from his mouth "Bar-hrum." Merry says. Making Pippin laugh as then Merry joins in and they both begin to laugh a bit crazy-like.

Lucy and Wendy just stand there at the entrance staring at the two as they just laugh, and laugh "Come on Wendy, let's uh...go look around the place for something." Lucy says as she begins ushering Wendy out of the storeroom. Making sure to grab the basket of apples and the chicken on the way out however as they exit from the storeroom, just as Treebeard appears walking up to them.

"What in the world is all that racket?" Treebeard asks as the laughter of the two hobbits continues to come out from the storeroom. Lucy and Wendy look at each other, and then back up at Treebeard with their eyes closed "No idea." the two girls say as they open their eyes and begin walking away. Treebeard raises his eyes confused, just as smoke begins to come out from the storeroom and he sniffs, smelling something as he walks over to the door and leans down to look inside.

* * *

 _Osgiliath…_

The battle still continues, though not as much as before as a few soldiers of Gondor find some cover for them to rest, and recover while others rush to get somewhere. Meanwhile Faramir leads Frodo, Sam, Happy, Carla, Lily, and Gollum along the shore but in cover in one of the lower parts of the city. Faramir leads them under a building as the group comes across a doorway with the light of water reflecting onto the wall inside "This is the old sewer. Runs right under the river through to the edge of the city. You'll find cover in the woods there." Faramir says.

"Captain Faramir...you have shown your quality sir." Sam says, Faramir appears to be a bit surprised to hear that from him "The very highest." Sam finishes.

"Aye! Thanks for the help Faramir!" Happy says raising his right paw into the air.

Faramir smiles "The Shire must truly be a great realm, Master Gamgee...where gardeners are held in high honor. And whatever the name of the land it is you Exceeds come from. It must be a great place as well. To make creatures as small as you, very brave and courageous to face any kind of danger no matter what." Faramir says.

"Hm, well if you ever met out friends you would see where we get our support from." Carla says.

"What road will you take once you reach the woods?" Faramir asks.

"Gollum says there's a path...near Minas Morgul that climbs up into the mountains." Frodo says as Faramir seems to become a bit surprised, and worried hearing this. Gollum is seen beginning to slowly crawl away with a worried look on his own on his face.

"Cirith Ungol?" Faramir asks, then looking down at Gollum as he suddenly reaches down and grabs him by the throat planting him against a pillar "Is that its name?" Faramir questions him.

"No~. No!" Faramir strengthens his grip on Gollum's neck "Yes~." Gollum immediately answers.

Faramir looks back at Frodo "Frodo...they say a dark terror dwells in the passes above Minas Morgul. You cannot go that way." Faramir says.

"It is the only way. Master says we must go to Mordor, so we must try." Gollum says as Faramir continues to look at him angrily. Then turning and looking back at Frodo "I must…" Frodo says.

Faramir looks at him, wishing he could stop him but knows that it appears his mind has been made. Faramir tosses Gollum aside to the ground and stands back up "Go Frodo. Go with the goodwill of all Men." Faramir says.

"Thank you." Frodo says.

Frodo turns and enters the sewer and is followed by Sam, the Exceeds stay where they are waiting for Gollum as Gollum begins to follow after when Faramir once again assaults and slams him against the wall "May death find you quickly if you bring them to harm." Faramir threatens him.

Throwing him into the sewer as Gollum looks back at him and limps off. Faramir looks at the Exceeds as they look at him "You do not trust him either I take it?" Faramir asks.

"Nope." Happy says.

"Not in the slightest." Lily says shaking his head.

"Not even for a second." Carla says.

"Sam is the same. But we can't do anything because in a way he actually knows his way into Mordor having of gotten himself out of there when he was captured...But…" Happy says.

"But what?" Faramir asks.

"It's also because Frodo is feeling sad for him. Him and the Ring have a past, and let's just say the Ring turned him into what he is now." Lily says.

"Frodo hopes that he can save Gollum and make him turn back into what he was before. Unfortunately only the four of us know that at the stage he's in that seems highly unlikely. And the only reason he's leading us is so that he can take the Ring at the chance he can." Carla says.

"Frodo is being deceived, I wish he could see it...keep an eye on him. You three and Sam. Make sure nothing happens to him or else I would never forgive myself for allowing that thing to walk. If Gollum tries anything, no matter what Frodo says, you must take him down for the good of your survival. I leave Frodo's safety back into your hands." Faramir says.

"Thank you again, Captain Faramir." Carla says. The three Exceeds spread their wings and fly off into the sewer after the others.

 _Helm's Deep…_

Gandalf, Aragorn, Natsu, and the others, joined by Theoden, Eomer, and Gamling ride their horses slowly up a hill some distance away from Helm's Deep "Sauron's wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift." Gandalf begins to speak.

At the top of the hill the group look off into the distance to see Mordor. "The battle for Helm's Deep is over...The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin." Gandalf says.

Aragorn and Natsu look over at Gandalf as he looks back at them and then forward again "All our hopes now lie with two little Hobbits, and three little Exceeds…"

 _In a Forest somewhere near Osgiliath…_

The group having of emerged from the sewers some time ago now walk/fly through a forest _"...somewhere in the wilderness…"_

"I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales." Sam suddenly asks aloud.

"What?" Frodo asks looking back at him.

"I wonder if people will ever say, "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring." And they'll say, "Yes! That's one of my favorite stories." "Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he Dad?" "Yes my boy. The most famousest of Hobbits. And that's saying a lot."" Sam says.

Frodo, Happy, and Carla can't help but chuckle a bit as Lily smiles "Well you've left out one of the chief characters: "Samwise the Brave." I want to hear more about Sam." Frodo says. The two walk a few more feet before Frodo suddenly comes to a stop and turns back to look at Sam with a saddened look on his face.

"Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam." Frodo says.

"Now Mr. Frodo, you shouldn't make fun. I was being serious." Sam says.

"...So was I." Frodo says.

The two friends look at each other, until suddenly "That's so mean of you Frodo! How could leave me and Carla out of your story?! What about us?" Happy questions in a whining tone with tears in his eyes as he appears in between the two Hobbits looking at Frodo. Frodo and Sam can't help but chuckle at this as they continue walking. Even Carla chuckles a bit under her breathe "Oh Happy." she says.

"Hey, what about me?" Lily questions with a sweatdrop on his head.

"Hehe, sorry Happy. How could I forget about three of our other chief characters: the Brave, and Daring Exceeds known as Panther Lily, Carla, and "The Great" Happy. Known as the Great for always being able to lift up our spirits in time of need, no matter what." Frodo says.

"Yay! Did you hear that Carla? I'm known as "The Great" Happy in Frodo's tale! Isn't that amazing?!" Happy asks as he floats back over to her and Lily.

"It sure is Happy. It sure is." Carla says with a slight tone of amusement in her voice.

""Samwise the Brave."" Sam says liking the ring to his name as well.

Walking a few more feet, the group then take notice of a certain someone missing from their group. "Smeagol?! We're not going to wait for you. Come on." Frodo calls out.

Some distance up ahead, Gollum is seen limping forward a bit still in some pain "Master. Master looks after us. Master wouldn't hurt us…" the personality of Smeagol says in a kind, gentle voice while whimpering.

"Master broke his promise." the personality of Gollum says in an angered, throaty voice.

"Don't ask Smeagol." Smeagol pleads "Poor, poor Smeagol."

Gollum/Smeagol then stops and lifts himself up on his hands while on his knees "Master **betrayed us**." Gollum then continues forward a little bit "Wicked. Tricksy. False." he walks up to a branch and begins to twist his hands around it while saying "We ought to wring his filthy little neck!"

Gollum then throws himself to the side and continues walking "Kill him! Kill him! Kill them all! And then we, take the precious...and we be the master!" Gollum says.

Smeagol then takes control and hops away behind a tree with a worried look "But the fat Hobbit and the three little kitties, they knows. Eyes always watching." Smeagol says then peeking around the other side of the tree as Gollum's personality takes control.

"Then we stabs them out. Put out their eyeses and make them crawl." Gollum says.

"Yes. Yes. Yes…" Smeagol says in agreement.

"Kill them all." Gollum says.

"Yes. No! No! It's too risky. It's too risky. Especially with that small kitty that can become big, and with that big swordsy of his he would cut us in two before we could do a thing." Smeagol says while falling onto his butt and kicking himself back up against another tree. Just as he then hears the Hobbits and Exceeds approaching and hides behind the tree from their view.

"Where is he? Where has he gone? Hey Gollum! Where are you?" Sam calls out.

"Smeagol?" Frodo calls out.

"Hey Gollum, where are you?" Happy calls out.

Gollum then begins slowly turning his head forward "We could let, **her** do it." Gollum says quietly.

"Yes. **She** could do it." Smeagol says in agreement.

"Yes, precious, she could. And then we takes it once they're dead." Gollum says.

"...Once they're dead." Smeagol says with a gleeful look in his eyes.

"Sh~." Gollum says shushing himself/Smeagol. Gollum/Smeagol looks out around the tree, and then hops back out "Come on Hobbits and Kitties. Long ways to go yet. Smeagol will show you the way." Smeagol says in his kind voice before turning and crawling back forward as the Hobbits and Exceeds begin to follow.

"Follow me~." Gollum quietly says under his breathe with an evil look in his eyes.

The Exceeds hang back a bit while still following the others "I'm not the only one who gets suspicious of him whenever he's off by himself?" Lily asks.

"No, cause when he's by himself it's the perfect opportunity for him to be planning something out that can get all of us killed and the Ring into his possession." Happy says.

"Then it's just like Faramir said. We need to be careful around him. And if he tries anything, then no matter what Frodo says, we need to take him out." Carla says.

* * *

 **WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO AND THERE WE GO PEOPLE! Movie Number 2, is done! Wow...okay. Went over my schedule a bit but you know what. It happens, and probably will happen from time to time which will then change the schedule around and...okay sometimes I wonder why I have this schedule cause it never ends up working since stuff always happens and whatnot. But whatever, I'll keep on trying to keep to it even if I have to go a week or two off it to get stuff done. So anyways, there we go The Two Towers is over and done with. Which means...Return of the King and this story will officially come to its sad, but epic conclusion!**

 **What awaits our Fairy Tail heroes in the next film? Will Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel finally be reunited with Lucy, and Wendy? Will the Exceeds be able to stop Gollum before he can get them and Frodo, and Sam killed? And what will become of Natsu and Lucy?! Well...unfortunately you're going to have to wait until next time when I get back to this story after I give some time on my other stories. So until then, enjoy!**


	14. Reunion, Celebration, and Revelations

**SURPRISE! What up people that's right I have one more chapter for you fellas before I legit now call it a break from this story for a while to work on my other stories! Now you're probably wondering, So-Pro, why are you giving us one more chapter? Well...I decided that if I was going to give you guys a cliffhanger until the next time where I conclude this amazing story. I was going to give you guys a really good cliffhanger. What is that cliffhanger? Well, read and find out!**

* * *

 _In an Unknown Area…_

It was almost like a barren wasteland. Dead trees, no green of anything for miles, no animals were heard, and sharp high rocky mountains pointed up into the sky. Inside a small cave against one of the mountains, Sam, and the Exceeds Happy, Carla, and Lily were fast asleep, all except for Frodo who had an uneasy look on his face. Frodo quietly reached inside his shirt and pulled out the Ring, and just stared at it, slowly turning it around and just staring at it in another trance-like state. That is until he heard someone coming towards the cave, making him quickly put it away as then from above the cave entrance Gollum appeared looking down on them.

"Wake up!" Gollum called down, though did not receive any stir as he dropped down and landed on his hands and feet. "Wake up! Wake up sleepies." Gollum says shaking Sam awake as the Exceeds begin to awaken as well "We must go, yes~. We must go at once." Gollum says before turning and crawling off.

Sam looked over at Frodo and took notice that he had appeared to be awake for a while now "Haven't had any sleep Mr. Frodo?" Sam asks.

Frodo shakes his head in response. "I've gone and had too much." Sam says as he begins to pick himself up.

"Guess the same could be said for us as well." Lily says as the Exceeds stand up with Carla dusting dirt off her clothes. Sam stands up and looks out the cave "Must be getting late." Sam says.

"No...It isn't. It isn't midday yet...the days are growing darker." Frodo says.

"No wonder it's getting harder to tell the time of day...unless it's night that is." Happy says.

"Can't tell if that sounds bad, or good since it could mean we're getting closer to Mordor and actually getting into the place. Or if something very bad is about to happen." Carla says.

All of a sudden the ground beneath the group begins shaking violently, Gollum who is up ahead of them looking out at Mordor becomes quite worried by this as he starts rushing back to them "Come on!" he calls back as the shaking stops.

Gollum climbs up on a rock and looks back at the cave "Must go! No time!"

"Not before Mr. Frodo's had something to eat." Sam calls back.

"No time to lose silly." Gollum responds.

Sam chooses to ignore this as he walks back and sitting down begins rummaging through his backpack "If that earthquake is a sign, I would say something bad is on its way. Problem is what." Lily says.

"Or maybe it was just a random earthquake that popped up coincidentally." Happy says shrugging his shoulders with his paws up.

"Here." Sam says handing Frodo another wrapped up lembas bread. Frodo grabs it and while he unwraps it looks back at Sam "What about you?" Frodo asks.

"Oh no, I'm not hungry. Leastways not for lembas bread." Sam replies.

"Sam…" Frodo says worried for him, he didn't want him to starve because of him.

Sam lets out a sigh of defeat knowing Frodo wouldn't eat unless he did as well "All right. We don't have that much left. We have to be careful or we're going to run out...You go ahead and eat that Mr. Frodo. I've rationed it." Sam says as Frodo does so and takes a bite from the bread.

"There should be enough." Sam quietly says as he looks away.

Frodo however still hears him "For what?" he asks.

Sam looks back at him "The journey home." Sam says. Frodo seems to be a bit surprised by this for some reason but chooses to accept it. His only hopes were that him and Sam could go home after this was all over.

"If anything we still have some more bread in here as well. So we should be good. Would've had more but considering SOMEONE took my fish, I've had to eat the bread as well." Happy says as he shows a few more wrapped up lembas breads in his backpack while he, Carla, and Lily eat as well.

"You know, I just thought of this now. But what exactly is going to happen to you three and Natsu and the others when the Ring is destroyed? You said you were transported to our world to help destroy the Ring, but what happens when it's done? You just, up and vanish right back? Or is there some kind of thing you have to do, someone to go too...what?" Sam asks.

Frodo himself becomes curious by this as he looks at the Exceeds, the Exceeds are a bit caught off by the sudden question and look at each other. "Actually…" Happy says.

"We never really thought about it till now." Carla says.

"Natsu and Lucy said that Lady Galadriel was the one who summoned us here. But they didn't say anything about what happens after the Ring is destroyed so I'm guessing she didn't tell them that." Lily says.

"I'm sure we can return home somehow. I mean, Lady Galadriel wouldn't have summoned us here otherwise right?" Happy asks.

"I highly doubt she'd do something as cruel as take us away from our home and never see it again. There probably is a way to get back, if anything we'd just have to go see her ourselves." Carla says.

"I just hope it isn't just up and vanishing, at least not immediately. After all we need to be there for you two when the Ring is destroyed and need to escape Mordor." Happy says.

Frodo chuckles "Thanks Happy." Frodo says.

"Aye!" Happy says in his cheery tone.

With their break done the Hobbits and Exceeds head out as they walk up to Gollum who begins to lead them through the area "Come Hobbitses and Kitties. Very close now. Very close, to Mordor. No safe places here. Hurry." Gollum urges them. The group walking through the dead trees as the ground beneath them almost looked like it was burnt, not that far away now was the dark and roaring clouds of Mordor and its mountain wall.

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Fangorn Forest…_

Gandalf took the lead on his horse Shadowfax going down a dirt path through the forest, behind him was Theoden, and then followed up in a single line was Aragorn, Natsu, Legolas and Gimli, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Eomer, and Gamling. The small group making their way through the place. Uneasy looks on their faces as they could hear the trees groaning all around them, almost like they were sleeping.

However, as it turned out from an aerial view, this forest was now right there next to Isengard itself. What was once the great fortress of Saruman and his army of Orcs and Uruk-hai, had been reduced to rubble and water. Only the Tower of Orthanc remained untouched as all around it was water, debris, and an army of Ents. A familiar chuckle was heard on the destroyed wall that the new forest was planted next to as the voice of Merry spoke out "It's good. Definitely from the Shire."

Merry blew out some smoke after moving his pipe "Longbottom Leaf." Merry says as he and Pippin sit on the destroyed part of the wall. Smoking away at the barrels of Longbottom Leaves they had found in Saruman's storeroom as both of them were beyond now in a relaxed state surrounded by some food, a crate, a keg of ale, and two mugs to accompany it for them to drink.

"I feel, like I'm back at The Green Dragon." Pippin says as Merry takes a bite from some bread and hums "Green Dragon." he says with his mouth full.

"A mug of ale in my hand. Putting my feet up on a settle after a hard day's work." Pippin says.

"Only, you've never done a hard day's work." Merry says. Pippin has his pipe back in his mouth as he seems to mumble something while shaking his head side to side in agreement as the two laugh again. When suddenly they hear a horse neigh and look forward, both of them becoming surprised, and happy at who they see as Gandalf, Aragorn, Natsu and the others exit from the forest. Pippin cries out in laughter while raising his mug as Merry pushes himself up onto his feet "Welcome! My lords...to Isengard!" Merry greets as he points back with his right hand towards Orthanc.

"How long ago was it these brats needed our help? And now look at them." Gajeel says while grinning.

"You young rascals! A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you feasting and...and smoking!" Gimli yells at them while Aragorn, and Erza smile and the others just look at them with smirks on their faces. All of them, happy to see Merry and Pippin again, and okay.

"We are sitting, on a field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts." Pippin says as Merry chews on something with his mouth open letting some smoke out. Gimli seems to be drawn to this now "The salted pork, is particularly good." Pippin says.

"Salted pork?" Gimli asks now intrigued.

Gandalf looks at them with a face of disbelief as he mutters under his breathe "Hobbits."

"Nice to see you Merry, Pippin. Where are Lucy and Wendy at?" Natsu asks them noticing the absence of the two Fairy Tail girls.

 _In Saruman's Storeroom…_

Wendy hums a calming tune, her eyes closed as she sits down on a barrel on the side of the room with a half-eaten apple in her left hand while swinging her legs up and down. Lucy leans at the back of the room with her eyes closed and a piece of bread in her hand as she takes a bite of it, chewing and swallowing it as she then lets out a sigh. "Huh? Everything alright Lucy-san?" Wendy asks opening her eyes and looking at her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah sorry. Just a bit bored is all." Lucy replies looking back at the young Dragon Slayer. "Moments like this I wouldn't mind calling Capricorn to bring me one of those Elven books I got from Lady Galadriel right now to pass the time by. Then again, could've said that about of a lot of the moments we've been with Treebeard but only thinking about it right now. Probably could've read through half them by now if I could just call my spirits to bring me one of them." Lucy says turning her head away and looking down with her eyes closed.

"So you'd prefer reading books right now over seeing your friends again? I'm hurt Lucy." Natsu suddenly says as he stands at the door to the room with his arms crossed.

Lucy and Wendy's heads snap towards the doorway upon hearing a voice they had not heard in a really long time with shocked looks on their faces. Those shocked faces however are immediately replaced with looks of joy "NATSU!" Lucy cries out as she starts running forward.

"NATSU-SAN!" Wendy also cries out at the same time dropping down from the barrel and running towards him as well.

The two girls launch themselves forward/up as Natsu opens his arms up and catches them, the two girls hug Natsu as he hugs them back "It's good to see you two are alright." Natsu says.

"Natsu-san…" Wendy says almost on the verge of tears.

"It's so good to see you. After all this time." Lucy says in the same state as well.

Lucy and Wendy pull away from Natsu as Natsu lowers Wendy back onto the ground "When we saw that massive army, we were a bit scared thinking that you and the others were going to have to face them or something." Lucy says.

"Hm? Oh no, we faced them, and we kicked their ass!" Natsu says.

Lucy giggles "Probably shouldn't have expected any less."

Natsu gives her his signature toothy grin and chuckles in his throat "Come on it's going to take an army more than ten thousand to take us down. As for you two, looks like you were pretty busy." Natsu says turning around to look out the doorway at the scene outside.

"And you guys complain about me when I go overboard." Natsu says looking over his shoulder at the two.

Lucy giggles again and playfully punches the back of his left shoulder "Hey, at least it was a bad guy's place instead of some good town or city with innocent people who asked us for help." Lucy says.

"Plus, technically we didn't cause this, it was the Ents. All we did was throw a few rocks, and maybe a Dragon Roar here and there, and take out some Orcs." Wendy says.

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say." Natsu says turning back around with his grin still present and his eyes closed. He then opens his eyes and reaches behind his back closing his mouth "By the way, I think you lost some things Lucy. Say maybe…" he then pulls out Lucy's Key Holder and her whip in both his hands "Your whip and your keys?" Natsu says.

Lucy's eyes widen as she gasps happily and clasps her hands together "My whip! My keys!" Lucy cries out as Natsu hands them to her. Lucy grabs them and looks at her whip, putting it back on her left hip and then opens up her key holder to see all her Silver and Gold keys still in there. She smiles, she couldn't wait to see her spirits again who were all probably worried for her, even Aquarius who probably wouldn't show it...but then again there was also the whole _"if you drop my key"_ thing that would most likely occur but it didn't matter right now. "Oh Natsu. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Lucy cries out as she lunges forward onto Natsu again who is a bit taken back at first but then hugs her back again. Wendy watches off from the side with an open smile happy to see Lucy get her whip and keys back.

Lucy continued to say "Thank you," over and over again a few times while accidentally shaking both her and Natsu from side to side making him chuckle as he tried to hold her still. Lucy finally stopped shaking as she pulled her head back and...suddenly kissed Natsu on his cheek. Feeling Lucy's lips come into contact with his cheek made Natsu grunt quietly as his eyes widened, his breathing hitched up and he froze in place as Lucy pulled away and looked at him, seemingly unaware of what she had just done. Lucy was still giggling a bit before she took notice of Natsu's state, frozen with wide eyes and his breathing hitched for some reason. She raised her eyebrow wondering why he was like that and looked over at Wendy, Wendy had her hands over her mouth with widened eyes and blush on her cheeks. Lucy looked back at Natsu...as it then hit her what she just did.

Lucy's eyes widened as she covered her mouth and gasped with blush now coming to her cheeks as well "O-Oh my...Oh Natsu I'm...I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm so sorry! It was...uh~. I got caught up in the moment and…" Lucy was completely at a loss for words because of how embarrassed she was feeling right now that she had just kissed Natsu! I mean, it was on the cheek so it wasn't that bad but...Lucy lowered her head in embarrassment and moaned.

"N-Nah don't worry about it Lucy. It's alright. Got caught up in the moment and all I understand." Natsu says, himself also at a loss for words as he put his right hand on the back of his head and looked away, some blush now tinting his cheeks.

"Y-Yeah, so uh~. T-Thanks for keeping my Keys and Whip safe for me all this time. And stuff…" Lucy says while still looking down.

"Yeah, yeah. No problem, anything for you partner, friend, bestie…" Natsu says also still looking away with his hand behind his head.

"Yeah…" Lucy says.

"Yeah…" Natsu says.

Wendy had her hands together behind her back looking back and forth between the two seemingly confused. Then, she closed her eyes as a wide, innocent looking smile came to her face "You two li~ke each other." Wendy says.

Natsu and Lucy's eyes widened and they both choked up in shock at what they just heard Wendy say as they both turn towards her and yell "NO WE DON'T!"

Wendy just giggles all innocently, Natsu and Lucy stare at her with clenched teeth while grunting through them a few times "G-Go see Erza and the others already! They're outside at the wall with Merry and Pippin!" Natsu says to her.

"Alright." Wendy says tilting her head as she turned and ran out the door.

With her gone both Natsu and Lucy both let out major sighs while dropping their arms down and lowering their heads before straightening back up. The two however still don't look at each other as Natsu puts his hands to his hips and Lucy scratches her right cheek "So...Erza and the others are at the wall right?" Lucy asks.

"Yeah, they're with Merry and Pippin right now. Trying to learn about what happened here and all." Natsu quickly replies.

"A-Alright. Guess we should get going." Lucy says.

"Uh~, you go on ahead. I gotta do something first." Natsu says, actually making Lucy look at him and hum, confused by what he meant by that.

Natsu notices this and quickly thinks up something "What? I'm hungry. And man does this place look like it's stuffed with some good food. And it's not like Saruman will need it anymore so~. Yeah." Natsu says looking back at her trying to act all normal again.

Lucy stares at him for a few seconds, but then luckily buys it as she giggles and sighs "Same old Natsu. Always thinking with your stomach aren't you?" she asks looking at him. "Alright, just try not to be too long." Lucy says as she starts walking and exits the room.

Natsu listens with his ears until he finally doesn't hear her wading through the water and lets out a sigh of relief "And Natsu." Lucy says suddenly appearing in the doorway again as Natsu panics a bit at first crying out "Dah!"

Lucy is confused by this as Natsu quickly replies "Sorry, sorry. Think I stepped on something." Natsu quickly makes up.

Lucy decides to ignore this as she shrugs her shoulders "Glad to see you haven't changed." she says before exiting the room.

Natsu remains silent, waiting, and waiting for a while this time until eventually he is sure she is no longer there at the door or anything as he lets out another sigh _"Oh~ if only that were true…"_ Natsu says in his head. He puts a hand to his cheek, where Lucy had kissed him. That sure as hell didn't help him in the least bit, his heart was now beating a hundred miles per hour, he was sweating like crazy which luckily Lucy didn't notice, and his head was just hurting as it was on the fritz again like that night. Natsu crossed his arms and closed his eyes _"Okay…Step One: Rescue Lucy and Wendy, check. Step Two...Tell Lucy how you feel...fuck."_ Natsu says in his head.

Natsu did not know what to do now. Should he just, pull her aside when he got the chance too so they could talk privately and he could tell her how he felt about her and everything? I mean confessing to her in private was number one priority cause the last thing he needed was Gray and Gajeel on his ass should...well things not go well. Sure, he liked...probably even loved Lucy. But what about her? Would she like, maybe even love him back? Sure they were good friends, good partners, but was that all Lucy saw them as or was there a possibility she saw them as...something more? He didn't want to ruin the perfect friendship they had now, or make things weird between them because of his stupid feelings. But the way his heart and head were beating, there was no way he would be able to continue to act normal around Lucy every time he was with her...which was almost all the time. Especially because of the nightmare if it decided to return.

So right now, there were two choices for Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail. Either tell the girl he loved how he felt and hope that she loved him back, or go through the rest of his life, however long that would be at this rate, with a beating heart and head that feel like they could explode at any moment...Fuck he needed his heart and head if he was going to kick people's asses and still look for Igneel one day.

Once everyone regrouped, the rescued friends mounted up on the horses as Merry got onto Eomer's horse behind him, Pippin behind Aragorn on his horse, Wendy sat in front of Erza on her horse, and Lucy got onto the back of Natsu's horse as the group rode their horses calmly through the remains of Isengard towards the Tower of Orthanc.

"Hm~ young Master Gandalf. I'm~, glad you've come." Treebeard greets as he walks in front of the group as behind him a few Ents are seen slamming away at Orthanc, though not a single scratch or mark of any kind is seen on it.

"Wood and water, stock and stone I can master. But there is a wizard to manage here...locked in his tower." Treebeard says as he and the others stop.

Aragorn looks up at the tower and quietly says "Show yourself."

"Be careful...Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous." Gandalf warns.

"Well let's just have his head and be done with it." Gimli says.

"Dangerous you say? He hasn't met me yet so let me at him and I'll show him dangerous." Gajeel says in a cocky tone.

Natsu cracks his knuckles with an angered look on his face "If anyone's going to be kicking his ass it's going to be me. I need to teach this old bastard a lesson about what happens when he messes with my friends." Natsu says with gritted teeth.

"No...We need him alive...We need him to talk." Gandalf says.

"If we need him alive to be interrogated, I can do that." Erza says slamming her left fist gauntlet into her right palm. "Hehe, no question about that." Gray says with a smirk while looking at Erza.

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Theoden King...and made peace afterwards."a voice begins to speak, a familiar one as Gandalf and everyone looks up. At the very top of the tower Saruman appears as he looks down over the edge with his staff in hands. "Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?" Saruman questions.

This was the first time the members of Team Natsu were seeing and meeting Saruman for the first time, and already they were staring with anger at the wizard. Erza, Gray, and Gajeel narrowed their eyes and looked up at him, Lucy, and Wendy stared up with courageous, angered looks on their faces, and Natsu's hateful look in his eyes could probably kill him if that was possible. After all, this was the bastard who sent those Uruks that kidnapped Wendy, and Lucy.

Theoden looks down and away "We shall have peace." he says, making Aragorn look at him.

Theoden looks back up "We shall have peace...when you answer for the burning of the Westfold...and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace, when the lives of the soldiers...whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows...we shall have peace." Theoden states in an angered tone.

Aragorn looks back up "Gibbets and crows? Dotard!" Saruman angrily responds.

"What do you want, Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess. The Key of Orthanc. Or perhaps the Keys of Barad-dur itself...along with the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!?" Saruman yells.

"Your treachery has already cost many lives. Thousands more are now at risk. But you could save them Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel." Gandalf says.

"So you have come here for information." Saruman says with an amused look on his face "I have some for you." he says.

He reaches into his robe and suddenly pulls out a volleyball-sized, smooth black marble with a dim orange haze of light inside of it as it moves around, a sinister grin on Saruman's face as he shows to them a Palantir. This seems to catch Gandalf's attention "Something festers in the heart of Middle-Earth. Something that you have failed to see...But the Great Eye has seen it. Even now, he presses his advantage...His attack will come soon." Saruman begins to say as Gandalf grabs the rein of his horse and ushers him forward a few feet slowly. "You're all going to die...But you know this, don't you Gandalf? You cannot think that this, Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile, crept from the shadows, will never be crowned king." Saruman continues pointing out Aragorn who looks back up at him unaffected by what he says.

"And do not think I don't know about these, children who possess magical abilities." Saruman says now focusing on the members of Team Natsu. "Fairy Tail...that is the name right? The name of this, magic guild you stand for. You cannot fool me, or Sauron. We know where it is you truly come from, mages. What a fool's errand, summoning people from a whole other world, just in hopes that they can help turn the tide of the war back into your favor Gandalf?" Saruman says.

Hearing this Legolas, Gimli, Theoden, Eomer, and Gamling look at the members of Team Natsu and at Aragorn, wondering what Saruman was talking about since they had not heard anything of this, especially the former two who were told that they were just from a far and distant land from across the sea. "I don't know how it is you were able to pull off something as powerful as that, Gandalf. But if you were going to summon someone, perhaps you should've gone with something more than just, some weak, pathetic, little children. They may have gotten lucky so far, but if you think they stand even the most remote of chances against Sauron, you are sorely mistaken." Saruman says.

"Big talk from some old geezer cowering at the top of his tower! And a stupid old eye who doesn't even have a body anymore! You think you're so tough, then come down here and get a taste of what we Fairy Tail mages are capable off!" Natsu angrily yells out at the top of his lungs.

Saruman seems to ignore Natsu however and continues talking "Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those closest to him...those he professes, to love. Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling, before you sent him to his doom?" Saruman questions, making Gandalf lower his gaze to the ground.

"The path you have set him on, can only lead to death."

"I've heard enough!" Gimli says loudly "Shoot him. Stick an arrow in his gob." Gimli quietly says to Legolas.

"Hey, Erza, why don't you show this bastard how good of a thrower you are with your Giant Armor and lance." Gray says to Erza.

Legolas reaches for one of his arrows as Erza actually listens to Gray and is about to requip before "No." Gandalf says making them stop as he looks back up. "Come down Saruman...and your life will be spared." Gandalf says.

"Save your pity and your mercy! I have no use for it!" Saruman yells as he raises his staff forward and fires a giant fireball from the bottom end of it downward. The massive fireball travels down towards Gandalf at an incredible speed, Natsu however is quicker as he stands up on his horse and launches forward into the air and into the direct path of the fireball as it impacts into him and explodes. The intense brightness from the fireball makes Theoden, Eomer, and Gamling squint their eyes a bit with shocked looks in their eyes at what Natsu just did. The others however, remain completely calm with Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Lucy even smirking.

"What a fool." Saruman says with a victorious grin. When his eyes widen in shock at what he suddenly sees as he gasps.

The fireball is beginning to grow smaller and seems to be drawn upwards and then back down, until it is revealed that the fire is floating into Natsu's mouth, the Fire Dragon Slayer with his mouth wide open and completely unharmed as he sucks in the flames of the fireball. Theoden and his men are completely shocked by what they see, especially Saruman as he never expected something like this! Finally all the fire is sucked into Natsu's mouth and stomach as he then drops back down into the water landing in front of Gandalf, as he then looks back up at Saruman with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Damn, that's some of the best tasting fire I've had in a while. Thanks for the meal, Saruman." Natsu says wiping across his mouth with his right arm.

"Im-Impossible. You...you are not human. What are you?!" Saruman questions with actual fear in his voice.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail. And to me, all fire is either under my control, or my meal." Natsu declares with a massive, sinister-looking grin on his face.

When Saruman had heard that mages from another world had been summoned to Middle-Earth by some unknown means, he became a bit worried. But when he learned that they were children, all of that went away. But now...seeing what just happened...he was beginning to question how powerful these Fairy Tail mages actually were. And if they were as powerful as he hadn't expected…

"Saruman...Your staff is broken." Gandalf says. Saruman's staff begins to glow brightly on different parts and shaking violent in Saruman's hands. The wizard looks at his staff and grunts in pain as then the staff breaks into pieces and disintegrates into nothing. Saruman looks at his hands in shock at what just happened to his staff, as then from behind him Grima comes into view behind to his left. Theoden spots him "Grima, you need not follow him...You were not always as you are now. You were once a man of Rohan. Come down." Theoden calls to him calmly.

Grima seems to turn away when Saruman then says "A Man of Rohan?" making Grima turn and look up at him. "What is the house of Rohan...but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs?! The victory at Helm's Deep does not belong to you, Theoden Horse-master! You are a lesser son of greater sires." Saruman says.

Theoden seems to actually be hurt by the words of Saruman as he looks away for a few seconds, but then turns and looks back up "Grima...come down. Be free of him." Theoden says.

"Free? He will never be free." Saruman says as Grima looks up at him and begins shaking his head.

"No…" Grima says.

Saruman turns and looks at him "Get down, cur!" Saruman angrily states through clenched teeth as he then backhands him across the face sending him to the ground.

"Saruman! You were deep in the enemy's counsel. Tell us what you know!" Gandalf questions making Saruman turn back and look down.

A face of hate comes onto Grima's face, clenching his teeth as he stares at the back of Saruman, and suddenly draws a small dagger from his coat. "You withdraw your guard, and I will tell you where your doom will be decided. I will not be held prisoner here." Saruman says unaware that behind him, Grima pushes himself back up and charges forward. Grima puts his left arm around Saruman and then stabs him in the back, making the wizard gasp out in pain and shock as Grima then stabs him again.

Gandalf clenches his teeth and silently gasps at what he sees. Legolas quickly acts and pulls an arrow back on his bow and fires, the arrow travels all the way up to the top and strikes Grima just below the heart making him cry out in pain. Theoden is shocked by what he sees as Grima then falls onto his back and winces in pain, Saruman lets out a groan while he begins turning around, and tipping backwards. Until finally he falls over the edge of the tower, and begins falling and falling with his body constantly spinning forward and around until he finally crashes onto a massive, wooden spiked wheel making a loud cracking sound upon impact. Merry winces with a shocked look on his face at the violent death, Erza quickly acts and covers Wendy's eyes as the young Dragon Slayer is also a bit taken back by the violent death of the wizard as Pippin also looks on in shock.

"Send word to all our allies. And to every corner of Middle-Earth that still stands free. The enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike." Gandalf urgently says with a worried tone.

The wooden wheel creaks as then it begins to slowly spin forward, taking with it the impaled on its spike Saruman until suddenly the Palantir falls out from his robe and lands in the water. The wheel continues slowly spinning forward, until all of Saruman is now rotated beneath into the water to never be seen again.

"The filth of Saruman...is washing away." Treebeard says then taking a deep breathe. Pippin looks at the water near the wheel, spotting something orange glowing in it as Treebeard continues to speak "Trees will come back to live here. Young trees." Pippin then dismounts off Aragorn's horse into the water "Wild trees." Pippin then begins wading through the water catching Aragorn's attention.

"Pippin!" Aragorn calls to him making everyone look at him as Treebeard stops talking.

Pippin reaches down into the water, and pulls out the Palantir as he begins looking at it while Gandalf rides up behind him "Bless my bark!" Treebeard says in shock seeing the Palantir.

"Peregrin Took!" Gandalf calls down to him as Pippin looks up at him "I'll take that my lad. Quickly now." Gandalf says extending his right hand out. Pippin looks back at the Palantir and then turns and hands it to Gandalf, Gandalf quickly grabs it with his right hand under his robe and proceeds to wrap it up before looking back down at Pippin who looks away. Gandalf's horse begins to walk away as Gandalf turns back forward, Pippin looks back at him.

* * *

 _Rohan…_

The riders are seen with their horses galloping as off in the distance, Edoras is seen.

 _Inside the Golden Hall…_

A large crowd consisting of many soldiers and teenage, adult, and elderly citizens are gathered silently in the hall as everyone watches Eowyn walk up to her uncle while holding a golden goblet in her hands. She bows down and holds it out to Theoden as he accepts it and Eowyn walks over to his right side, Eomer stands to his left as the King of Rohan raises his goblet into the air making everyone who was sitting stand up, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and the members of Team Natsu included. "Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead." Theoden says.

"Hail!" Everyone yells out raising their mugs into the air and proceed to drink it down, except for Aragorn who hesitates at first but then finally starts drinking it.

 _Sometime later…_

And now, the celebration of victory was in full swing. The hall was filled to the brink with chatter and laughter, as people ate, drank, and talked amongst themselves in big groups. "No pauses." Eomer says handing Legolas a mug of ale as the elf stands "No spills." and then hands the other off to Gimli who sits down at the table.

"And, no regurgitation." Gimli says with a joyous look on his face.

The soldiers around the two let out a hearty laugh "So, it's a drinking game?" Legolas asks. A few of the other soldiers around them cry out in a cheer "Last one standing wins." Gimli says looking up at Legolas as he chuckles.

"A drinking game huh? Mind if we join in?" Gray asks as he, Gajeel, and Erza suddenly appear, Erza in her normal clothing.

"If you can hold your liquor in, the more, the merrier!" Gimli yells.

"Are you sure?" Eomer asks as he hands a mug to Gray.

"What are you nuts? We're used to stuff like this all the time back where we're from." Gajeel says as Eomer then hands him one.

"You mean another world?" Legolas asks as Eomer fills up a mug for Erza whilst listening in.

Erza looks down with her eyes closed "Sorry we kept it a secret. It was just that-"

"Do not worry. I find it myself hard to believe, but considering what you are capable of, as well as some of what you have told me. It does seem like the more reasonable story now doesn't it." Legolas says with a smile, showing Erza and the others he did not care that they kept their true origin a secret from him.

"Aye, I for one am also in agreement with the elf. Had any of you told us where you truly came from in the beginning, we probably would've wrote you off as mad. But after what I've seen, I can believe it." Gimli adds in.

"I would probably not had believed you had you said it the first time we met ourselves. I know, it sounds like a crazy man's talk even now. But, from what I have seen of all you, I do not think there is any other sane explanation." Eomer says as he hands the ale to Erza who takes it. Looking back at Eomer as she smiles "Thanks for understanding." Erza says.

"But yeah. Believe it or not, we pretty much party and drink almost every day at our guild. Hell, there's this one girl there who if she were here right now, would've won this game no problem." Gray says.

"Really now?" Legolas asks.

"Yep. Girl named Cana, uses magic related to cards, and can drink thousands of gallons of any alcoholic beverage and still not pass out. There was probably one time she lost to someone, and it was because the guy she was facing was equally able to hold his own, even beyond her limits." Erza says.

"Then again it didn't help that the guy was drunk like literally every time you saw him. Whereas Cana only got drunk when, well she drank." Gray says.

"Hehe~, sounds like my kind of lady. Well, what are we waiting for? Let the game begin!" Gimli says with a massive grin on his face as he begins chugging down his mug.

"Yeah!" the three Fairy Tail mages yell raising their mugs into the air as they begin drinking.

"What'll we drink to?"

"Let's drink to victory!"

"To victory!" a group of Rohirrim soldiers yelled out as the other participants began to down their ale, except Legolas who appeared to be hesitating at first. Gimli continues gargling down his first drink as then Legolas finally and calmly brings his mug up to his mouth and starts to drink it.

Meanwhile at another table, Natsu was seated on a bench with Lucy on his left and Wendy, who appeared to be a bit dizzy with a mug of ale in her hands, sitting to his right. The three mages had the table to themselves as while Lucy was eating a piece of meat off a leg, Natsu was just sitting with his arms crossed and an annoyed look in his eyes. Lucy took notice of Natsu being quite silent for a party and so asked "Natsu, you alright?"

Natsu hummed as he looked at Lucy "Oh, yeah. I'm alright." Natsu says looking forward again. Lucy eyed him suspiciously as she leaned towards him, Natsu getting a bit nervous as she did this making lean away a bit eyeing her now. "Natsu~, I know when you're lying." Lucy says.

Instead of being persistent with what he said before, Natsu lets out a sigh of defeat and closes his eyes. Opening them back up as he looks forward "Eh, what can I say. This just ain't fun, that's all. Really boring for a celebration if you ask me." Natsu says.

Hearing this and knowing what he was so bored about made Lucy look at him with a pout on her face "Natsu, you better not even think about starting a brawl here or you'll get a Lucy Kick from me." Lucy says.

Natsu lets out a loud cry of sadness "Come on Lucy...just one little fight?" Natsu asks looking at her.

"No! Remember, this isn't our guild, this is the hall of a king and his people and as we are the guests we need to show a little respect." Lucy says.

"Not even punch Gray, or Gajeel?" Natsu asks.

"Not even that." Lucy says.

Natsu turns away and groans in defeat with his eyes closed, until suddenly a wide toothy grin comes to his face and he chuckles. Lucy hums confused with Natsu's sudden change in his mood "Yep. This feels right." Natsu says.

"Huh?" Lucy says raising an eyebrow at what he said as Natsu looks back at her.

"This. You telling me what not to do or else something bad will happen to me. Trying to keep me under control so I don't cause trouble. Everything's back to normal, thanks Lucy." Natsu says closing his eyes and giving her his signature toothy grin again.

Lucy is a bit taken back by this as the way he said that makes her blush a bit, making her turn away feeling embarrassed slightly "Uh, thanks." she says with a smile.

"But you should know that eventually it will fail and I will probably start something either intentionally, or unintentionally." Natsu says with his head turned away and eyes closed. Lucy looks back at Natsu with another pout on her face, a bit angered at first, but then she calms down and actually giggles "Yeah, guess that will probably happen. Guess we'll have to wait and see." Lucy says.

"Mhm...Natsu-san is right...but there's something still missing from all of this." Wendy says with her head now lying down on the side of the table with the mug still in her hands. Natsu and Lucy look at her wondering what she's talking about.

"It still needs the feeling that we're actually home, with everyone else." Wendy says in a depressed tone as sadness comes across her face.

Natsu and Lucy are a bit taken back off the suddenness of what Wendy said, Natsu puts a comforting hand on her head "Hey, Wendy. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see Fairy Tail again soon. Along with Gramps, and everyone else." Natsu says.

"Yeah." Lucy says in agreement.

"I know...but it's been so long since we left. Do you think what happened last time will happen again? Or maybe something worse?" Wendy asks.

"Of course not. Don't forget last time Gramps, and a lot of our other friends were with us when that happened. But I'm sure that with Gramps and the others there now, there's no way they would've let something bad happen to the Guild again in our absence. When we return, it'll a still be there, along with everyone else." Natsu says.

Wendy suddenly lets out a yawn, it appears the effects of the ale were now starting to hit her as she could now barely keep her eyes open "I hope so…" Wendy says, before finally passing out.

Natsu and Lucy looked down at the passed out Wendy with saddened smiles, Natsu calmly rubbed her head and then lifted it off her carefully so as to not disturb her. "Wendy's right in a way though. We've been gone for a while now, sure it hasn't been even two years luckily. But still. Or, what if like the Celestial Spirit World this world's time is much faster than ours. The months we've been here, could be who knows how many years in Earthland. What if we go back and, it's been so many years that all our friends have grown old, or…"

"Lucy." Natsu says catching her attention.

"No matter what happens. Even if a lot more time has passed in our world. All that matters, is that Fairy Tail, and our friends are still there. And that we still have each other." Natsu says turning and looking at Lucy.

Lucy's eyes widened a bit in shock as she gasps quietly "Natsu…" she says. The two stare at each other, everything around them just seemed to quiet down and became barely audible in their ears as they just seemed to be drawn to each other's eyes. Just then Aragorn passes by them, almost a second later however he backs up behind the two and looks down at Wendy to see her passed out. Spotting the mug in her hands Aragorn's eyes widened a bit in shock as he turned to Natsu and putting his left hand on the side of his head, slammed it down onto the table knocking both him, and Lucy out of their trance and bringing them back to reality as Natsu cried out in pain.

"Ow!" Natsu cried out holding the side of his head as he brought it back up, Lucy shook her head _"What in the world?"_ she says in her head, wondering what just happened to her right there. "What the hell was that for Aragorn?!" Natsu angrily questions Aragorn looking up at him as Lucy then turns her attention to this.

"Do you mind explaining to me, why Wendy is drinking ale?" Aragorn questions.

Natsu turns his head back towards Wendy and looks at her, she was still passed out with the mug in her hands "What? Not the first time she's had alcohol." Natsu casually says.

Aragorn's eyes widened again, and like that the other side of Natsu's head was slammed down onto the table "OW~!" Natsu cries out now holding both sides of his head in pain.

"What?!" Natsu yells looking back at Aragorn.

"Do you not realize, that Wendy is too **young** to be drinking any sort of beverage like ale. She is not of the appropriate age." Aragorn angrily says.

"Wait, there's a certain age you have to reach before you start drinking? Never heard of that before." Natsu says. "And hold on a second! The times I have seen her drink were when she was with Erza, Lucy, and some of the other girls from our guild! By the time I get there she's already drunk and dizzy on a table most of the time! So why am I getting hit?!" Natsu yells at Aragorn.

"Because I will not strike a lady, and as a brother figure to her you should be teaching her what's right and wrong at least until a certain age." Aragorn says.

"But still why am I getting hurt?! Again I'm never around when they drink so-" Lucy continued to watch the scene between Natsu, and Aragorn in front of her, finding the situation a bit hilarious as she began to laugh.

Back at the drinking game. Gimli downed another mug of ale, as did Legolas who then put the finished mug on the table in front of him where a few other mugs were already placed. In front of Gimli however was a growing pile as Eomer handed another mug of ale to him, Gimli then lifted himself up a bit and let out a nasty fart making Eomer look at him a bit disgusted. "Here, here!" Gimli says.

Gajeel, Gray, and Erza each finish mug respectively and put them down, getting another one Gajeel was about to start drinking his, when he sniffed the air and suddenly gagged out "What the hell?!" Gajeel yells as he quickly covers his nose.

"Hey, hey, that's cheap! Gimli your damn ass rip is getting to my sensitive nose you bastard!" Gajeel angrily states.

"Hehe, what's wrong. Can't handle the smell?" Gimli humorously asks.

"With my enhanced senses hell nah! I'll be back don't count me out just yet!" Gajeel states as he quickly turns and starts walking off.

"Hehe, moments like that I'm glad I don't have any enhanced dragon-like senses of my own." Gray says, his face just spelling out he was getting drunk and would not last much longer.

"It's the Dwarves that go swimming, with little, hairy women." Gimli says in a state of full on drunk as he cackles a bit.

Legolas downs another mug as does Gimli "I feel something." Legolas suddenly says lifting his right hand up and fidgeting with his fingers a bit. Eomer raises his eyebrows a bit surprised to hear this "A slight tingle in my fingers...I think it's affecting me." Legolas says with a worried look on his face as he looks at Gimli. Just as the dwarf plants his next empty mug on his pile and begins laughing "What did I say? He~ can't hold his liquor." Gimli says pointing at Legolas. As then suddenly some ale seeps back out down his mouth and beard, and he crosses his eyes before falling backwards off the bench and to the ground.

Gray gags a bit as he attempts to drink another mug, and as such pulls it away from his mouth "Nope, I'm done." Gray says in a weakened and drunk state as he places the mug down.

Legolas looks at Eomer "Game over." he says with a straight face.

"Wait!" Legolas and Eomer look over, to see as Erza chugged down another mug of ale and slammed it down onto the table. She looked back forward, and her entire face was red from her drunken state as she had a very serious look on her face "Who said I was done?" Erza questions.

Seeing this makes Legolas, and Eomer raise their eyes in shock and surprise.

"Uh oh. Erza's drunk, better be careful not to piss her off. Cause when she's drunk, she loses control of herself a lot more easily." Gray quietly says to the two with a worried look in his eyes with clenched teeth.

" _Oh you can search far and wide. You can drink the whole town dry!"_ Merry and Pippin begin to sing and dance, their arms over each other's shoulders with their other hand holding a mug of ale as someone can be heard playing what sounds like a violin. The two dance on a table as around them a crowd of Rohirrim and civilians sit/stand and watch the two Hobbits while laughing and clapping their hands. Merry kicks Gamling's mug onto him making the Rohirrim humorously start throwing his hands and arms around complaining about his spilt drink. _"But you'll never find a beer so brown. As the one we drink in our hometown."_ the two begin hopping around in a circle arm and arm with each other before stopping and continuing to just dance/jump up and down on the table.

" _You can drink your fancy ales. You can drink 'em by the flagon."_ Gamling stands up and humorously starts yelling at them, as from nearby Gandalf watches the two as well dancing and clapping his hands along with everyone else. _"But the only brew for the brave and true…"_ Pippin stops singing and dancing as he spots Gandalf.

"Pippin!" Merry says bringing him back to what they were doing.

" _But the only brew for the brave and true~. Comes from The Green Dragon!"_ the two finish staring at each other as they hit their mugs against each other and begin drinking them while their crowd continues to laugh and clap but now cheering for claps his hands for them as well as then Aragorn walks behind and then to his right side "Thank you! I win!" Merry is heard yelling out.

"No news of Frodo?" Aragorn asks while still looking at the Hobbits.

"No word. Nothing." Gandalf replies.

Aragorn turns his head and looks at him "We have time...Every day, Frodo moves closer to Mordor." Aragorn says before looking away.

"Do we know that?" Gandalf asks looking at him.

Aragorn looks back at him and looks away with his eyes, an unsure look in them before he looks back at Gandalf "What does your heart tell you?" Aragorn asks.

Gandalf remains silent for a few seconds, before a small smile comes to his face "That Frodo is alive...Yes...Yes, he's alive." Gandalf says as he looks forward again.

After some time away Gajeel finally begins to return to the game, up ahead of him he could see Legolas leaning down on the table using his hands to support him while Erza stands with her arms up in the air and a mug still in her hand. "Alright! And that! Is how it's done!" Erza yells out as the Rohirrim around cheer on Erza for winning the game.

"Wow, I did not see that coming…" Eomer says a straight face, but inside he was just beyond surprised and shocked that a young woman managed to outdrink his men, a Dwarf, and then Legolas. "Hey! What are you cheering about I'm still in the-" Gajeel then unfortunately trips over his own feet "Whoa!" he yells as he falls forward and accidentally splashes his ale onto Gray.

Luckily he manages to recover before he can fall all the way down as he looks at his mug and turns it upside down to see the ale gone "What the?" he says.

He then looks forward to see as Gray turns towards him with an annoyed look on his face, ale dripping down from his hair and soaked shirt, making Gajeel burst out in laughter "What's wrong stripper boy, can't hold your drink?" Gajeel mockingly questions before laughing out again.

Gray grits his teeth together, and then grabs Gajeel by the collar of his shirt "You wanna start something you eyebrow-less bastard? Go ahead!" Gray challenges.

"Better get your damn hands off me, cause one, I didn't do it on purpose. But even if I did, I'd like to see you try something!" Gajeel angrily states as he then headbutts Gray. Making the Ice Make mage release him and stumble back a bit, though too far back as he backs up right into Erza, knocking her forward a bit and causing the mug that was still unfortunately full of ale, to spill all over her head and clothes.

Gray straightened himself back up and got ready for a fight "Why you…" Gray angrily says at Gajeel. Who at the moment is standing with his mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened as he lets out a groan of terror.

"Huh?" Gray hums wondering what's got Gajeel terrified, when "Gray…" a familiar voice that did not sound too pleased from behind him says. Making his entire body freeze and start tingling in terror as he slowly turned his head around, his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed a bit, until he was finally staring over his shoulder at Erza who was drenched from her ale, her arms dropped down forward and her head hanging low "Y-Yeah, Erza?" Gray asks.

Legolas, Eomer, and some of the other Rohirrim were watching what was happening, and definitely took notice of the fear in Gray's voice and the look in Gajeel's face. Erza straightened herself up, and then suddenly turned all the way around, with a look of death on her face "Are you trying to start something?" Erza questions.

Sweat was now pouring down both Gray and Gajeel's faces as they both stared at her with widened, blank eyes, and clenched teeth as Gray quickly backed up and held his arms up defensively "N-No! Of course not Erza!" Gray says in a panic.

"Y-Yeah, I just saw a bug on his back and tried to get it off, that's all!" Gajeel says.

"Y-Yeah what he said!" Gray says.

"Do you two take me FOR A FOOL?!" Erza yells out as she pulls her arm back with her mug still in her hand.

"NO~!" Gray and Gajeel cry out in terror, the two ducking down as Erza throws her mug at them, the mug soars through the air and hits the back head of another Rohirrim. Making the soldier accidentally spill his drink forward down the back of another Rohirrim in front of him as that Rohirrim flinched from the drink soaking him and then turned around looking at the man who did it. Before the soldier could even explain the other Rohirrim pulled his arm back and punched him in the face, sending him twisting around and into a civilian man who then got knocked into a few more men and soldiers causing a variety of things to happen such as drinks getting spilled on other people, or people to fall on others.

It did not take long until suddenly, people went into a state of brawl, all of the men, civilian and soldier alike, began punching, kicking, and smashing things onto each other and it began spreading. Theoden took notice of this and wondered what was going on, Eowyn also turned, as did Aragorn, and Gandalf. All the women and elderly began running away trying to get away from all the fighting. "Hm?" Natsu hums as he and Lucy, Wendy still passed out, looked over in the direction all the commotion was coming from "What's going on over there?' Lucy wonders.

When suddenly a civilian man cries out and is sent flying into the air crashing into the floor right in front of Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy's table as the former two stand up and look down at the knocked out man who was groaning in pain. "A brawl?! Alright! I'm all fired up! Let's go!" Natsu yells out as he jumps out from his seat and quickly rushes over to where all the fighting is happening.

"Huh? Wait Natsu!" Lucy yells out.

"Did someone say a brawl? I could use one right about now." the Celestial Spirit and Fairy Tail mage Loke says suddenly appearing beside Lucy as he fixes his tie.

"EH?! Loke?! What're you doing here?!" Lucy cries out in shock seeing him appear from nowhere.

"Why, protecting you of course by taking all of these unruly men down. Now if you'll excuse me." Loke says as he then charges towards the fighting.

"W-Wait a minute!" Lucy calls out, but lets out a sigh of defeat "Oh forget it, why do I try?" Lucy says closing her eyes and lowering her head.

A Rohirrim pushed another soldier onto the table Merry and Pippin were standing on, rocking it violently as the two Hobbits cried out and fell off it to the ground. Gray finds himself head-locking Gamling as the Rohirrim did the same thing to him, the two trying to overpower the other but to only a stalemate, Gajeel grabbed another soldier by the collar of his armor and headbutted him knocking him out. Gimli was still passed out on the ground, and from their hiding spot underneath the table, Eomer and Legolas peeked out and over from beneath it and looked around. "Well...this is a first." Eomer says.

"I can see why now Erza is feared by her friends. In a normal state she can control herself and punish those who step out of line, but in this drunken state, she loses all self-control and can be set off by the smallest of things." Legolas says.

Off on the other side of the hall were those who were not wanting to be involved in the fight as Theoden, Eowyn, Aragorn, Gandalf, Merry and Pippin who had managed to make their way out of that mess stand next to the table Lucy and a still knocked out Wendy were at. Lucy lets out a groan of defeat "Why? Why does this always happen?" Lucy says with her eyes closed.

"This happen often?" Merry asks.

"You have no idea...almost every day of the week Natsu, Gray, or Gajeel, always have to start something and it then spreads out to almost everyone else around them." Lucy says.

"...How do you get by this every day?" Aragorn asks.

Lucy looks up at him, and gives him an embarrassed smile "You get used to it."

* * *

 _Somewhere in the Woods…_

Night had fallen. Frodo, Sam, and the Exceeds were fast asleep next to a big rock wall, nearby "Too risky. Too risky. Thieves. They stole it from us. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them both." Smeagol mutters in his sleep, suddenly leaping up and crying out for some reason.

"Shh! Quiet! Mustn't wake them. Mustn't ruin it now." Gollum says as he crawls down the rock he was sleeping on and walks over to a nearby small pond. "But they knows. They knows. They suspects us." Smeagol says now looking down into the water to see his reflection.

"What's it saying, my precious, my love? Is Smeagol losing his nerve?" Gollum questions.

"No Not. Never. Smeagol hates nasty Hobbitses and Kitties. Smeagol wants to see them...dead." Smeagol says, hesitating at the last word.

"And we will. Smeagol did it once. He can do it again. It's ours! Ours." Gollum says with a growl.

"We must get the precious. We must get it back." Smeagol says with urgency.

"Patience! Patience, my love. First, we must lead them to **her**." Gollum says with a devious smile.

"We lead them to the Winding Stair." Smeagol says.

"Yes, the stairs. And then?" Gollum questions.

"Up, up, up, up, up the stairs we go...until we come to the tunnel." Smeagol says.

"And when they go in...there's no coming out...She's always hungry. She always needs, to feed. She must eat. All she gets is filthy Orcses." Gollum says.

"And they doesn't taste very nice does they precious?" Smeagol asks.

"No...Not very nice at all, my love. She hungers for sweeter meats. Hobbit and Kitty meats…" Gollum says. As Gollum continues to talk to himself, over with the others Carla is seen with her eyes fully opened. The female Exceed having been awake for some time now listening in on the whole "conversation" between Gollum and Smeagol, Carla quietly gets up and crawls over to Sam as she nudges him a little. Waking up him as she quickly puts a finger over her mouth signaling to him not to say anything as he immediately does so and begins to listen to Gollum/Smeagol talk to themselves as well now.

"And when she throws away the bones and the empty clothes, then, we will find it!" Gollum says.

"And take it for me~!" Smeagol excitedly says.

Gollum's reflection in the water looks back up at himself/Smeagol a bit angered "For us." he corrects.

"Yes. We meant "for us."" Smeagol nervously agrees.

"Gollum. Gollum...The precious will be ours...once the Hobbitses are dead!" Gollum gleefully says as he picks up a small rock and drops it into the pond. Creating a few ripples in the water for the few seconds, though upon them coming to a stop Gollum then spots the reflections of Sam and Carla standing/floating in the air behind him.

"I knew it!" Carla angrily says.

"You treacherous little toad!" Sam yells, swinging and slamming his frying pan across Gollum's face sending him flying to the side. Gollum's cry of pain awakens Frodo, Happy, and Lily who turn and see what is happening as Frodo quickly sprints up onto his feet.

"No! No! Master!" Smeagol cries out as Sam begins to strangle him.

"No! Sam! Leave him alone!" Frodo yells as he pulls Sam back.

"I heard it from his own mouth. He means to murder us!" Sam says to Frodo looking back at him before turning back towards Smeagol who crawled away a few feet.

"Never! Smeagol wouldn't hurt a fly." Smeagol says with fear in his voice.

"Really? So all that stuff about you leading us to **her** and having whatever her is eat us until the only thing left are our belonging and clothes, which includes the Ring was just a figment of our imagination? I heard him! Every last bit! He's leading us to our death!" Carla states.

Smeagol puts his hand to his head where he got cut and moves his hand in front of his face to see the little amount of blood, making him cry out. "He's a horrid, fat Hobbit, and she is a cruel, wicked kitty, who hates Smeagol. And who both make up nasty lies." Smeagol whines.

"Don't you dare call Carla cruel, wicked, and especially a liar! She is none of those things so if anyone's the liar here it's you!" Happy angrily yells at Gollum.

"You miserable little maggot! I'll stove your head in!" Sam angrily states as he attempts to attack Gollum, Gollum cowardly retreats behind a small tree with a terrified look on his face.

"Sam!" Frodo calls out as he quickly grabs Sam to prevent this.

"Call me a liar? You're a liar!" Sam yells.

Frodo pulls Sam back and looks at him straight in the face "You scare him off we're lost!" Frodo says.

"I don't care! I can't do it Mr. Frodo. I won't wait around for him to kill us!" Sam says.

"I'm not sending him away." Frodo says.

"Frodo we're close to Mordor as it is I say his use has come to an end." Lily says.

"Yeah! We can find the rest of our way to Mount Doom by ourselves, that way we won't have to worry about Gollum killing us in our sleep!" Happy says.

"No! We still haven't found the secret entrance he talked about yet, if we send him away now we might not ever find it." Frodo says.

"You don't see it, do you? He's a villain." Sam says.

"A manipulative one to. He's trying to act all innocent but on the inside he's a monster." Carla says.

"...We can't do this by ourselves Sam. Not without a guide. I need you on my side...all of you." Frodo says looking at Sam and then the Exceeds.

"I'm on your side Mr. Frodo…" Sam says.

"We all are, Frodo." Happy says.

"I know Sam, Happy. I know. Trust me. Come Smeagol." Frodo says as he holds his left hand out. Smeagol cautiously begins to hop over to Frodo, passing by the Exceeds and Sam who eye him angrily as Smeagol then grabs Frodo's hand and the two begin to walk away. Sam looks on as he then begins to follow after Frodo, and reluctantly, Smeagol.

"Lily…" Carla quietly says so only Lily, and Happy can hear what she's about to say.

"One more strike. If he steps out of line one more time, we need to do what Faramir told us to do and get rid of him. No matter what Frodo does." Carla says.

Lily nods his head in agreement.

 _Back at Edoras…_

The celebration having died down hours ago, all of Edoras was now silent except for the cool, windy, night. Inside one of the rooms of the Golden Hall, the members of Team Natsu, along with Gimli, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Gamling, and a few Rohirrim soldiers are fast asleep, Aragorn and Legolas were nowhere to be found. All of a sudden Lucy began to quietly groan in her sleep, her closed eyes wincing in fear as she began tossing and turning until suddenly she shot up with her eyes opened and began to breathe quickly and heavily. Cold sweat ran down her face as she looked around to see everyone still fast asleep, she calmed down and began to breathe in and out at a normal pace as she then removed the blankets off her and quietly got up, heading towards the door as she opened it up and snuck out of the room. However, there was one person who was only pretending to sleep and saw the whole thing, as Natsu opened his eyes all the way and sat up looking at the door Lucy snuck out of, Natsu narrowed his eyes as he got up and made his way to the door.

Natsu opened up the back door of the Golden Hall quietly and peeked outside, he could see Lucy sitting down on the edge of the concrete that raised the building off the ground a bit, except for the back which was raised very high up on the top of the hill. Allowing anyone who stood/sat out in the back to have a view of the plains of Rohan for miles, and miles around, as well as a view of the clear, starry night sky. Natsu opened up the door a bit more when it suddenly made a creak, alerting Lucy who turned around quickly tensing up a bit, before she then saw that it was Natsu. "O-Oh, Natsu. What are you doing out here?" Lucy asks a bit nervously.

"I could ask you the same thing." Natsu replies as he fully walks out the door and closes it behind him, walking over to Lucy and sitting down beside her as Lucy looked down with a saddened look on her face.

"It's nothing. Really. Just a bad dream is all." Lucy replies.

Natsu leaned back on his hands and looked at Lucy with a raised eyebrow, he was sensing something off about the way she said that. "Nothing huh? Cause the way you look right now it doesn't look like it." Natsu says.

"Natsu...I'm telling you, it's nothing." Lucy says still looking down.

"Lucy…" Natsu says, making Lucy turn her head and look up at him. Natsu was staring at her with a serious face, Lucy could tell by that look alone that he was not buying what she was saying.

Lucy was a bit taken back and looked back forward and down with a look of hurt in her eyes. "Hey...Come on Lucy. It's me. Natsu. Your partner...your friend. If there's something wrong, you can tell me. Like you always can. I'm here for you, no matter what." Natsu says leaning towards her with a look of sorrow in his eyes. Natsu couldn't stand to see this, he could never stand to see any of his friends, even Gray and Gajeel, looking like they were hurting from something. Sure for those two he wouldn't act all nice but he would still try to help them however he could. But right now...at this moment, when the girl that he had fallen for looked like she was hurting a lot right now, he was going to make sure he gave it his all to make sure that he saw her smile again.

Lucy continued looking down, she remained silent for almost a minute before she closed her eyes and let out a whimper, tears appearing her eyes. Natsu grunts in shock. "It's my fault…" Lucy says.

She begins shaking "It's all my fault...isn't it Natsu? What happened."

"What're you talking about, Lucy?" Natsu asks.

"Moria...we got lucky...we got so lucky. When Frodo was saved by his Mithril shirt after I couldn't stop that cave troll. But Amon Hen...Boromir, he sacrificed himself. He lost his life, because I was too weak to do anything. To save him, to stop those Uruk-hai from taking me, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin. If I had just been stronger, stronger like you, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel, then none of that would've happened. Boromir wouldn't have died. We wouldn't have been separated forcing you and the others to chase after us leaving Frodo, Sam, Happy, Carla, and Lily alone. It's because of me, all of this happened. Maybe it was a mistake for me to have come her with you and the others, I don't have the strength you guys do to save this world." Lucy says as tears begin to trickle down her face. As she said this, Lucy did not notice the hands of Natsu clench up into fists, and his teeth grit together.

"I'm weak, Natsu. I always have been, and always will be." Lucy says.

Suddenly the next thing Lucy knew was hands being put on her shoulders and forcefully turned up towards Natsu as she opened her eyes in surprise "Natsu?" she says.

" **Don't you say that!** " Natsu angrily states.

Lucy is taken back by the anger in his voice as she gasps quietly. She then took notice of something, Natsu was shaking, his head looking down as his arms trembled while holding her. But why? "Don't...you. **Ever!** Say that you are weak. You hear me, never!" Natsu states then looking up at her, right into her eyes.

Lucy was too in shock to say anything, all she could do was just look back at him, the tears still in her eyes. Natsu realized that he needed to calm down before he accidentally hurt her, he stopped shaking and took in calm breathes. Taking his hands off her shoulders he kept his eyes looking straight at her as he then lifted his hands to her face and used his thumbs to wipe away Lucy's tears, keeping his hands on her cheeks.

"Please...don't say that. I can't stand to hear you say that about yourself. It's not true...If anyone's to blame, it's me! I should've been there sooner. I shouldn't have allowed those Uruk-hai to slow me down. I should've blasted my way through them, and gotten to you so none of you would've gotten kidnapped, and Boromir lose his life. It's because of me all of that happened. Boromir lost his life because of me. You, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin, you got grabbed by those Uruk-hai because of me. We almost lost all of you, because of me...And it's because of me...It's because of me...I almost lost you. The one person who has become someone important, more important than she realizes, in my life." Natsu says.

Lucy gasps quietly as her eyes widened and her pupils began to shake "Natsu…" she says.

"Lucy...That day we met in Hargeon. When I first saw you, something sparked inside of me. Told me to bring you back with me to Fairy Tail. And when you mentioned how you wanted to join the guild, I just went with that feeling and did it. And I'm glad I did. You became a part of the family, a good partner...and an amazing friend. And you may not think it, but you're stronger then you make yourself sound. Strong with your magic, and strong with your will to protect your new friends, and family. Ever since you joined you've proven yourself time and time again that you are a mage of Fairy Tail, you've held your own against people tougher then you and continued to get back up until they went down. And you've helped me, and the others do the same thing in taking down anyone else who tried to destroy our family, our bonds of friendship. Thinking back on it now...that day we met in Hargeon. It's become a special day to me in my heart. Because without that day, I wouldn't have met you. Wouldn't have gone on all those amazing adventures with you. I wouldn't have known, the most amazing...beautiful girl that has had a big impact on my life…" Natsu says.

Lucy continued to listen to Natsu…

"I didn't know what it was. But whenever I saw you hurt, or in pain. Something inside me snapped, told me to help you through whatever it was that you were hurting from. Or beat the living **hell** out of the people that caused you pain. Even now, that's still true. I never knew what this feeling was inside of me...Never questioned it...I just followed it because it felt right. But then...that night happened. The reason why, I was always breaking into your room at night, the weeks following the Grand Magic Games, before we came here. It was because of the night Future Rogue almost killed you. If future you hadn't jumped in the way...but even then. Seeing the future you die right there, all because I failed to stop his attack. It was like seeing you there, in her place. And it was terrible...the very night we got back home, that thought became the most terrifying nightmare in my life. I couldn't go to sleep, I just couldn't. Every time I tried, it came back to me, and it felt so real. That's why I broke into your room, because doing that was the only way to stop the nightmares from coming, because having you in my arms, felt that I was protecting you from them."

"Natsu…" Lucy says.

"I can't take it anymore...I almost lost you once...and now I've almost lost you twice. I won't let that happen anymore. I don't care what happens to me. All that matters now, is protecting you. Lucy...no matter what happens. I promise you, that I will always be there for you, no matter what. Never again, will anyone take you away from me...never again, will I let that beautiful smile of yours turn into sadness...never again, will I let anyone harm the girl I've come to care so, so much about. Who has really changed my life around. Never again...will I let anything happen to you...Lucy Heartfilia...my partner...my best friend...the girl I love." Natsu says.

"Natsu…" Lucy says once again, her eyes still wide in shock as her tears began to reappear.

Suddenly, both Natsu and Lucy at the same time begin leaning towards each other, tilting their heads slightly to the left and closing their eyes. Until finally their lips touched and sealed over each other. Natsu Dragneel, and Lucy Heartfilia...the Fire Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit Mage of Fairy Tail...were now kissing.

* * *

 **OHHHHHHHHHH! Now THAT'S a Cliffhanger I believe...yeah.**

 **Again I hope I did this right cause again this is the first time I've included romance into any of my stories so I'm just going off what I have seen from movies or read about in other NaLu Fanfic stories. Hope you guys enjoyed that and until next time where this amazing story will come to an amazing conclusion.**

 **Let's Go, FAIRY TAIL!**

 **Q &A…**

To **Mew Sakura the Cyniclon:** Well I'll only reply if there's a question to be asked so hehe.


	15. The Fire Dragon and his Princess

**I'm back! Sorry it took so long but the reason was is that I'm actually going back to the earlier chapters of this story and fixing them around a little. Fixing grammar, words used, and changing a few things around, not a whole lot but a few things. What they are you'll have to go back and check on to see yourself, but at the moment I have all but chapters 10-13 fixed up and will do those when I can while continuing to work on and finish this story. BUT ANYWAYS what a time it is too for all us Fairy Tail fans :(...**

 **FAIRY TAIL HAS ENDED! (insert crying emoji)**

 **At least for the Magna, CHEERS FOR FAIRY TAIL ANIME RETURNING IN 2018! Who's ready for one last adventure with our favorite Guild?! Raise your hands into the air and make the gesture we all know and love!**

 **Well, I mean in terms of the main story itself. But lucky for us, the adventures of Fairy Tail will never die out for me, or on this website! It will continue to live on!**

 **And speaking of which, might as well talk about that final chapter and everything since how...well...stuff.**

 **WARNING: SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE FINAL CHAPTER OF FAIRY TAIL!**

 **So...In all. I enjoyed the final chapter for, what it was. A great send off to a great series (no matter what others may say I really love this series and it has grown to become my favorite series of all time!). It was great seeing everyone one last time (in terms of the magna since again still got the anime coming out so yay!) And, hell it really hit me how this was it, this was the end of the series in general. I listen to the openings and endings on my IPod Touch, and listening to them after reading the final chapter, was actually a bit difficult to do XD. And literally, I feel like the minute I watch the final episode of the Anime and it ends, I'm no joke...might actually cry. That's how awesome and how much I've come to really love this series and its characters. I don't know why, but there was just something about it that really brought me into this amazing world and the people who inhabit it. So when that drops, oh the tears are gonna flow and working on stories like this will be hard to do for a bit in the future, just using characters that you'll never see more adventures of.**

 **But enough of that now and back to the final chapter. So...ships...NaLu...Gruvia...Gajevy…**

 **Again, as I've said I'm a big NaLu fan, the other ships I'm also cool with but not that into them. But will include them should the characters be there and I feel like it. It was really funny seeing that apparently, Gajeel is going to be a DADDY?! HAHAHAHAHAHA XD. Oh, man that hit me so hard like what?! Gajeel and Levy get together after the war obviously since he straight out confessed to her when he thought he was going to die, which didn't happen so yay! And just a year later BOOM apparently Levy is pregnant?! What the hell Gajeel? You two aren't even married! XD. I mean, that's what it sounds like anyways according to what Lucy "thought she heard" and Wendy's look on her face...poor Wendy that look on her face. But congrats to those two!**

 **Gray and Juvia, looks like something happened between those two? Again, poor Wendy and her dragon hearing XD.**

 **And then...Natsu and Lucy...ohhhh the NaLu stuff in this chapter. It was all there! Drunk Lucy, apparently as a kid Natsu had a crush on Anna? Which I could see easily having transferred over to Lucy due to...well I mean ancestors and whatnot and since he's grown up and everything you guys know what I mean? And then, the biggest thing of it all, Lucy HERSELF finding out her feelings for Natsu because of how it's because of him (and Happy) that she was there in the first place and got to do all those amazing things with them and the others. It was all there...and when Natsu grabbed her arm and it looked like she was puckering up to kiss him (at least I think I could be wrong maybe?) Natsu DRAGGED HER OFF to continue their adventures together!...No kiss...sure we got a hug but we've gotten plenty of those at this point but...yeah...COME ON! It was there and everything, and Natsu saying how they were always going to be together no matter what...STOP TEASING US YOUR ENDING THE SERIES FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! But, things happened and, yeah Team Natsu went on a 100-Year Quest? So I mean...yeah they're gonna be together forever I think. Unless humans have like expanded lives or something in Fairy Tail Universe I don't know. Who came up with that thing anyway? A Quest that takes a hundred years to complete? Soooo at that point you're kind of saying goodbye to your friends and the guild forever right? Or unless you complete it early or something I guess but...what?**

 ***Sighs***

 **It was all there, and in the end WE STILL GOT A TEASE! But, in a way still confirmed in a way? I don't know. But yeah, went on YouTube, other websites, I saw that there were people not really pleased with the ending and again just the teasing thing of the ships, again I'm sad it didn't happen either but I'm not hating the series cause of it. But it definitely was a letdown to say the least. BUT. There may yet be one salvation left for us who want to see it happen...the anime! Not even joking after reading the chapter, I spent like an hour I think just thinking up possibilities of how there could be a solid confirmation of NaLu in the anime...yeah I can really get into things sometimes and then lose track of time and other things if I have nothing else to do. Heck, happens to me all the time when I'm planning out these stories so yeah. But anyways, thought I'd share some of these options with you guys and see what you think COULD POSSIBLY or WOULD LIKE TO happen if we actually do get something to solidly confirm NaLu in the anime.**

 **Option 1) As I feel the final chapter will be an episode in on itself, it stands to reason they would have to add some extra scenes in to make it the length of a normal television episode right? Well, if that's the case, then what if one of those extra scenes just so happens to be well what else? Maybe Happy could fly out of Lucy's house ahead of the others and when he does Natsu turns around and plants one right on her taking her by surprise and boom. Continue on, that's that. I would honestly have to say this would be the more plausible one considering it's true how extra scenes are added into an episode to extend it right? Especially when it comes to battles, etc. So why not add the scene everyone wants to see in to help extend it just by a little bit and maybe a little something more like some words and reactions exchanged between the two before Happy comes back wondering what's happened to them?**

 **Option 2) The Least Likely to happen possibly, but maybe we can get an OVA of some kind that focuses specifically on Natsu and Lucy sometime after they and the others left for their 100 Year Quest? Where they get separated from the others and, well stuff happens blah, blah, blah, and boom feelings come out and kiss. Or maybe just one last awesome movie that is actually canon unlike the other two and again yeah? More then likely an OVA if this was to happen.**

 **Option 3) This, I don't know how some of you may feel about, but a small, keyword SMALL Filler Arc that again, takes place after the series has ended. I myself never had any problems with the Fillers, and I do see how there are a lot of people who hate them, more specifically from certain anime. I myself never hated the fillers of Fairy Tail, as for the other anime where people mention the fillers suck like One Piece or Naruto, One Piece, again never really had a problem with them, and Naruto, never seen it so I wouldn't know what people are talking about.**

 **Option 4) Probably the highest possibility compared to even the first one, or maybe even go with the first one. A Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood style ending, the one that involves pictures and especially of ones from the future where we see our favorite characters all grown up and with their own kids, maybe even pictures of their weddings and stuff. And yeah.**

 **So in all these are how I could HOPEFULLY and POSSIBLY see things going for the anime if Hiro decides to give us what a lot of people have been waiting for, and that is for Natsu and Lucy to be confirmed ending up together and stuff and yeah. If he doesn't, man, I'm gonna be mad a little bit but in the end just whatever about it and I guess, we can only rely on these Fanfiction stories to satisfy what we all wanted. Besides when you do think about it some more, Natsu was just being…well Natsu. And we all know he's not exactly "bright" when it comes to certain areas, and I get the feeling that yeah romance is one of them, almost like how I wrote Natsu out in this story, where he doesn't understand the feelings he has for Lucy. There are stories out there where Natsu is, well not him, where the author has him lusting for Lucy, or knowing what love is and just waiting for something I guess yeah. But I have the feeling the true Natsu, just unfortunately doesn't know what romance is, so the way the chapter ended does fit into what Natsu would do, and if we ever do get any kind of something from Hiro that eventually confirms this, I feel like Lucy might actually have to be the one herself to explain to Natsu the whole thing XD. That would be interesting to see.**

 **So, in all. I enjoyed the final chapter of Fairy Tail. Sure, one of the things many of us looked forward to perhaps, didn't happen. But again, as I and some other people have pointed out, that's just Natsu for yah. Dude probably doesn't know a thing about romance and so yeah. It's not like we'll ever know at this point, unless by some chance one of the things above happen, or by some chance Hiro decides to give us like a special edition magna or something, hell maybe by some small chance like a sequel series or something which…doesn't seem plausible with the Team again going on that 100 Year Quest and everything…but who knows, and maybe one day he just might give us what we want.**

 **So, with that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The number of times, the number of times that one or the other got a tease from a fellow guildmate or even from people outside of the guild itself was very high. If there was an estimate, it could very well be in the hundreds, maybe in the thousands at this point, and all those times it was brought up, one or the other, or even both of them would deny the accusation pointing out and saying it would never happen cause of this or that, whatever. And yet. Here they now were. Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia, one a Fire Dragon Slayer with a tendency to cause too much destruction then was warranted without even trying and mostly fighting using the old brawn over brain method. The other, a Celestial Spirit mage bookworm who was also the most level-headed and smartest of the strongest team relying on her smarts over brawn any day of the week. They very well were two completely opposites to one another, anyone could see that.

That didn't stop them however, that didn't stop them from becoming the best of friends in the strongest, and craziest guild in all of Fiore. That didn't stop them from forming a team and going on many jobs and adventures together, overcoming one peril after another, always being there to support one another whenever they needed it. That didn't stop the number of times that they worked together to overcome an enemy who proved to be immensely powerful, an enemy that seeked to destroy everything they fought to love and protect, nothing stopped them when they were together, they always had each other's back and they were nearly inseparable from one another. They may have been completely different from one another in how they handle things, but that didn't stop Natsu and Lucy who stood together side by side ever since the first day she was brought to Fairy Tail by him to face off against anyone who dared threaten them, their friends, and their family. The two had been through a lot together since that fateful encounter, that day in the port city of Hargeon, and now the bond between these two, has just grown a lot more.

As Natsu and Lucy, shared their first kiss with each other.

The two mages were now lost in their own world. Everything around them was just dark and silent, as the only thing that existed right now was each other. In fact, the two mages were so lost in this new world of theirs, that the only thing that brought them back to reality was the fact they had been kissing each other for so long, that they had to reluctantly break apart from each other just to get some fresh air. Taking in a deep breath of that air from the world, the two opened their eyes and stared intently into the others. Natsu and Lucy continued to stare at each other, letting it sink in on what had just occurred between them. At this point, Lucy, or Natsu, or even both of them, would've began panicking like crazy wondering what had just happened, trying to find some way of explaining what had happened was because of something else, or that perhaps they were just caught up in the moment that it happened and that it was only an accident. But it didn't.

As it finally sunk in what had just occurred, Lucy and Natsu both blink their eyes a couple times, surprised looks coming to their faces as their cheeks began turning bright pink. Out of embarrassment they both look away in opposite directions with nervous looks on their faces.

"So...that just...happened." Lucy says while still looking away, blushing like crazy.

"Y-Yeah...hehe...it...it did...didn't it." Natsu says also with his cheeks blushed as the nervousness in the two's tones could easily be heard.

And then, silence fell between the two who just continued to look away from each other and at the world around them. To say that they didn't know what to do now, was an understatement, as they were at a complete **loss** as to what was to happen next.

"So~, is that last part you said...true?" Lucy asks.

Natsu looks back at her with hurt in his eyes, he had a really bad feeling about this. I mean, he just went straight out and proclaimed that he **loved** her! Sure, this was the first time he was ever doing something like this, telling a girl that he really liked her and whatnot, but even he knew that you're **never** supposed to say "I love you" before they even started going out or something. But the truth was out now, and all he could do at this point was speak the truth and take back what she said even if it hurt his heart.

"Y-Yeah…" Natsu says lowering his head "Everything I just said...All of it's true. Every word of it." Natsu responds, closing his eyes to prepare for the inevitable.

Silence once again fell. Natsu with his eyes closed, and Lucy as she looked away from him.

"I think…" Lucy begins as Natsu winced a little preparing for it. When instead he feels two hands being placed on his cheeks as his head is lifted up, making Natsu open his eyes to see Lucy staring right at him with tears in her eyes and a smile "I think I really like that it is…" Lucy says.

Natsu quietly gasps upon hearing this, and seeing the look on Lucy's face. Placing his hands on her cheeks, the two lean in once again and kiss each other. Though, not as long as the first, nevertheless it became a very special moment between the two as they eventually separate from each other a bit out of breathe as they continue to hold each other's face in their hands and look at each other's eyes. After a minute they both release their hold on the other but still look at each other "So...you know what that feeling is now?" Lucy asks.

"Well yeah, I mean. I just used it...didn't I?" Natsu asks.

Lucy giggles with her eyes closed "Yeah...that's the right word alright. Not exactly something you should be saying to a girl right off the bat without having a year or so of some, you know, dates in it but. I can make an exception considering things." Lucy says.

Natsu giggles nervously as he scratches the back of his head "Yeah, kind of just...slipped out you know. Caught up in the moment and everything." Natsu says.

"Yeah...so, where'd you learn all that from? It couldn't have been Igneel." Lucy asks.

"Hey, like I said before, he taught me **everything** that I needed to know." Natsu humorously retorts.

"That must've been some really awkward class sessions I'm guessing." Lucy says.

"I was a kid back then I found the whole thought of falling in love with a girl disgusting and everything. But he persisted that one day I would find the girl of my dreams and blah, blah, blah." Natsu replies.

"And that "marriage" with Lisanna?" Lucy asks.

"Again, just a kid I was just playing along it wasn't serious or anything." Natsu repeats making Lucy laugh.

"So, still think those classes were a waste of time?" Lucy asks.

"Back then, yes. But. At the current moment...not so much." Natsu says smiling at Lucy who returns it back.

"Huh, who would've thought?" Lucy says.

"Who would've thought what?" Natsu asks with a raised eyebrow.

"That all those times we were teased for "supposedly" liking each other by Mirajane, Happy, or one of the others. Would come true." Lucy says.

Natsu shrugs his shoulder "Not as bad as we thought...Right?" Natsu asks.

Lucy leans in giving him another peck on the lips as she pulls back and mischievously smiles at him "That's three times Dragneel, what more proof do you need?" Lucy humorously asks.

"Hm~, I don't know." Natsu says with his own mischievous grin as he crosses his arms and looks away. Earning a playful push and laugh from Lucy as he laughs with her.

"Wow...this is really happening. This really is happening. The first boyfriend I get, and it turns out to be my moronic partner who destroys things for a living." Lucy says.

"Ouch! That hurt you know." Natsu playfully mocks placing his hands over his heart making Lucy giggle again.

"So...what, brought this whole...new side of you out? Exactly?" Lucy asks a bit curious.

"Considering everything that's happened recently. Probably a lot of those." Natsu says as a pained look comes to his face, something that makes Lucy just sad seeing it "Those nightmares, and when you got taken by those Uruk-hai with the others. Guess you could say that's when this whole thing started growing inside of me. Making me realize a lot more, just how much you meant to me, and what'd I do to protect you no matter what. To always have you by my side, because you complete me. You always find a way to brighten up my day when I need it the most, and you really have changed me, ever since the day I brought you to Fairy Tail." Natsu explains.

"Natsu…" Lucy says in awe, she was seeing a whole new side of Natsu that she, or probably no one at the Guild had ever seen before. And it was a side she liked as she smiles and places her right hand on his left bringing his attention back to her. As he sees her smiling at him, he just can't help but smile as well.

"You know, I could get used to seeing this new side of you. I really like it, a lot." Lucy says.

"Really? I honestly feel the same." Natsu says.

"Oh please you've never been this sincere before. I mean you do realize the things you said to me so far right?" Lucy asks.

"Hm~, okay I'll give you that." Natsu agrees "But anyways, to answer your question completely. Yeah, it was a combination of all those things that's happened to us so far. All they did was start awakening my feelings for you, it wasn't until I was able to open this" Natsu takes out from his pocket the pendant that Galadriel gave him, and now, he had a pretty good idea of what to do with it.

"That I finally discovered how I truly felt about you." Natsu finishes.

Upon seeing the heart shaped pendant, Lucy becomes slightly confused "Natsu, where'd you get that?" Lucy asks.

"Remember when Galadriel dismissed you guys before she gave me my present?" Natsu asks as Lucy nods her head "Well~, it wasn't a glass bottle filled with magical water that got rid of my motion sickness that she gave me. It was this."

"She~, gave you a heart shaped pendant?" Lucy questions.

"Yeah, that's how I felt too. You guys all got something cool or something related to the things you like. I got stuck with this and wondered why? All she told me was that it would "serve a purpose soon" thought it would be some like magic fire or something that would help me when I needed it most. Though that wouldn't explain the whole heart shaped pendant since she literally could've gone with anything else other than a heart. Getting off track, just…" Natsu holds his hand out for Lucy to take it "Open it?" Natsu asks.

Lucy takes the pendant from his hand and looks at it first before finding the switch and popping it open. Which is when she saw the design that was inside of it, the dragon, its fire that formed into the shape of a heart, a golden key inside of that heart, and the words _In this Story The Dragon PROTECTS His Princess_. It didn't take her long to figure out what it meant, the dragon representing Natsu, and the key representing her.

"I couldn't open it at first. But once I started discovering my feelings for you, that's when it unlocked itself and I opened it. Once I saw that, the dragon and the key, those words. I guess you could say that's when this whole new me appeared." Natsu finishes.

"Natsu...it's...so beautiful." Lucy says in awe with tears in her eyes once more.

"It is, isn't it? And I get the feeling, it would look a lot better around you." Natsu says as he suddenly gets up and walks over to Lucy, getting behind her as he takes the pendant, closes it, and unhooks the chain. Placing it around her neck and then hooking it back up, the pendant now dangling below her neck as she looks down at it in awe "Natsu…" Lucy says, suddenly she turns around and hugs him. Natsu is surprised at first, but in a second he returns the hug as the two close their eyes and embrace their newfound feelings for one another.

This, was the beginning of a new journey for Natsu and Lucy. One that they gladly looked forward to.

 _Meanwhile…_

A few minutes ago another conversation of sorts was occurring, this time at the front of the Golden Hall. Aragorn stepped outside, pipe in hand as he looked out across the plains of Rohan. When he felt the presence of someone else there and looked to his left, spotting Legolas who had his hood over his head as he seemed to be in deep thought about something "The stars are veiled." Legolas says also sensing Aragorn's presence as the Ranger walked up to his side and looked out into the vast open land "Something stirs in the east...A sleepless malice." the two look at one another for a second before looking back out.

"The eye of the enemy is moving."

 _Back inside…_

Pippin found himself unable to sleep, something was on his mind as that something made him shoot up from his cot and look over to his right. Getting up Pippin began to tiptoe over to the corner of the room where Gandalf was fast asleep on a bed "What are you doing?" Merry who awoke to his friend's feet hitting the floor quietly calls out.

Pippin turns back in surprise as cold sweat runs down his face, but he does not say anything as he turns back and walks over to Gandalf. Only to stop in his tracks in a panic as he finds Gandalf's eyes wide opened looking right at him, however, there appears to be no life in them as they just stare blankly at him.

"Pippin!" Merry calls again quietly as to not awaken the others.

Pippin waves his hand in front of Gandalf's face, just to make sure that he isn't awake and that he is just sleeping with his eyes open, which is proven true when he does not move or even blink as Pippin then looks at the wrapped up Palantir that he cradled in his arm. Merry was slowly starting to sit up becoming both curious and worried at what Pippin was doing "Pippin?"

Pippin looks around in a panic, looking for something before his eyes finally fell on a vase that sat next to the bed. As he picked the vase up and slowly began inching forward to grab the Palantir and replace it with said vase, only for Gandalf to start mumbling in his sleep frightening Pippin a bit as he reeled back. Once Gandalf stopped, Pippin went a lot more quickly this time as he snatched the Palantir up and replaced it with the vase, Gandalf did not stir.

"Pippin." Merry calls again "What are you mad?" he questions as Pippin walks away from Gandalf.

"I just want to look at it." Pippin says walking over to the foot of Merry's cot, placing the Palantir down "Just one more time." he begins to unwrap the spherical stone as Merry says "Put it back."

Fully unwrapping the Palantir, Pippin looks at the dark, smoothly spherical shaped object as a light orange wisp could be seen moving around inside of it. Pippin continued to breathe heavily as he stared at this thing, suddenly, it looked like he fell under some sort of trance as he slowly raised his hands forward and gripped it "Pippin." Merry says again, now fully becoming alarmed at what he was doing.

As he wrapped his hands around the object, the wisp suddenly began expanding, orange light could be seen outlining Pippin's hands as all of a sudden the wisp changed and the Eye of Sauron appeared in the Palantir. Pippin who was smiling at first, was now in a state of fear and panic upon the Eye appearing, his breathing was becoming hitched and the orange light around his hands was burning brighter than ever as the hobbit found himself unable to let go of the Palantir.

"No!" Merry says as he couldn't believe what he was seeing and was in such a state of shock that he couldn't find himself to call for help.

Sauron's eye roared and Pippin shut his eyes, the look on his face saying that he was in immense pain as he was trembling with fear "Pippin." Merry says. Hot sweat was starting to appear on Pippin's face as he began whimpering, the Eye making sounds almost as if it were speaking to him.

 _Outside…_

Legolas turned to Aragorn in alarm "He is here."

In the back, Natsu's eyes shot open in alarm as he pulled himself away from Lucy and looked back at the building "Natsu? What's wrong?" Lucy asks noticing his sudden change.

"Sauron...he's here." Natsu says.

 _Back Inside…_

" _I see you…"_ the voice of Sauron speaks from the Palantir. Suddenly the Palantir erupts into a ball of fire on the inside, Pippin shoots up to his feet unable to release his hold on the spherical stone as he begins flailing around in absolute pain, his mouth open like he was screaming but all that came out were quiet, painful gasps as Merry cried out "Pippin!"

Sauron continued to speak in his Black Speech as Pippin fell to the ground on his back and continued writhing around from whatever pain he was experiencing. Merry couldn't take it anymore as he finally found his voice "Help! Gandalf help!" he cried out instantly awakening the wizard, just as then Aragorn, Natsu, Legolas, and Lucy burst back through the door into the room and see the scene before them.

"Someone help him!" Merry cries as the others in the room begin stirring from their sleep as well taking notice of what was going on. With haste Aragorn rushes over and rips the Palantir from Pippin's hands, only for the exact same thing to happen to him as he finds the Palantir glued to his hands and unable to get rid of it as it begins to cause him excruciating pain as well.

Without a second thought Natsu rushes in "Don't!" Gandalf yells but is too late as Natsu grabs the Palantir from Aragorn's hands who passes out with Legolas catching him. But now Natsu finds himself in the predicament as well with the Palantir stuck to his hands and intense pain shooting through his whole body as he clenches his teeth "Natsu!" Lucy yells.

Suddenly images begin flashing through Natsu's mind. A large, massive city-like fortress, a dead white tree burning as drums and the screeches of orcs echo in the background, and then suddenly the Eye of Sauron himself.

"Hey!" Gray yells at the same time as Gajeel yells "Salamander!" as the two get up and rush over to help Natsu. "Don't touch it!" Gandalf yells.

Gajeel transforms his right arm into an iron club and uses it to knock the Palantir out of Natsu's hands sending it flying to the ground and rolling away as Natsu passes out with Lucy and Gray both catching him before he hits the floor. As the Palantir rolls across the floor Merry jumps back in a panic as Erza yells "Get back!" to everyone as she, and Wendy also jump back not wanting to risk even being near it. Gandalf grabs the cloth it was wrapped up in as Merry yells "Pippin!" and rushes over to him, Gandalf tosses the cloth over the Palantir which has fallen dormant again.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf angrily says as he turns around to look at Pippin. Only to see Pippin lying on the ground with his eyes wide open like he was lifeless, rushing over Gandalf pushes Merry aside to check on him as the Rohirrim gather around with Legolas still holding Aragorn, and the Fairy Tail mages gathering around Natsu as Lucy held him in her arms with the two of them still unconscious. Gandalf takes Pippin's left hand in both of his, feeling that it was cold as he rubs his hands to try and warm it up a little before placing his left hand on Pippin's forehead, closing his eyes, and then muttering something under his breath.

Aragorn and Natsu both begin to stir again "Natsu-san, are you alright?" Wendy asks with worry.

Natsu rubs his head "Man, that's something I don't wanna do ever again." he says before opening his eyes and spotting Pippin. The mages along with Aragorn, and Legolas rush over as Pippin finally awakens and begins panting madly, the look in his eyes one of pure horror.

"Look at me." Gandalf calmly and quietly says as Pippin does just that, his breathing beginning to slow down "Gandalf, forgive me." Pippin pleads as he begins turning away.

"Look at me." Gandalf says again bringing Pippin's attention back to him "What did you see?" he asks. Pippin closes his eyes, trying to give Gandalf an answer as he was still in a state of shock.

"A tree...There was a white tree...in a courtyard of stone." Pippin begins opening his eyes back up "It was dead."

Gandalf's eyes widen in alarm, like he knew what Pippin was talking about "The city was burning."

"That's what I saw to." Natsu speaks up making the others look at him "I also saw what he's describing. When I was holding that damn thing."

Gandalf looked back at Pippin "Minas Tirith? Is that what you saw?" Gandalf asks.

"I saw…" Pippin looked like he was on the verge of breaking down into tears as he tried his best to describe the horrifying things that flashed in his mind "I saw him… I could hear his voice in my head."

"And what did you tell him?" Gandalf asks "Speak!" he urges when he doesn't get a response immediately.

It took a few seconds, but eventually Pippin was able to gather up the things Sauron said to him "He asked me my name. I didn't answer. He hurt me."

"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf asks, only for Pippin to continue to stare at him with widened eyes.

* * *

 _The Next Morning…_

"There was no lie in Pippin's eyes." Gandalf begins his explanation as he, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden, and Team Natsu stood around a fire pit at the center of the hall, the two hobbits off to the side nearby.

"A fool...but an honest fool he remains. He told Sauron nothing of Frodo and the Ring. We've been strangely fortunate. Pippin saw in the palantir a glimpse of the enemy's plan. Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith." as Gandalf continued the others listened intently with what he said due to how important it sounded. "His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy two things. One, he knows the heir of Elendil has come forth. And two, that we have gained powerful allies on our side in the form of the mages of Fairy Tail. Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still, strength enough perhaps to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle-Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a king return to the throne of Men. If the beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."

"Tell me…" Theoden begins to speak "...why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours?" he questions, shocking Gandalf as Aragorn also turns and looks at him.

"Is he serious right now?" Gray quietly questions as he and Erza stare at him with anger in their eyes.

"Knowing him, probably so." Erza replies knowing all too well at this point how stubborn Theoden could be, even if the choice that was the right decision to make was right there in front of him.

"What do we owe Gondor?" Theoden says.

"I will go." Aragorn speaks up.

"No!" Gandalf instantly says.

"They must be warned." Aragorn retorts turning towards him.

"They will be." Gandalf responds as he then walks over to Aragorn "You must come to Minas Tirith by another road. Follow the river. Look to the black ships." he quietly says before turning away.

"Understand this. Things are now in motion that cannot be undone. I ride for Minas Tirith…" Gandalf then turns his attention towards Pippin "...and I won't be going alone."

"Hobbits, follow me, same with you Fairy Tail mages. I must speak with you." Gandalf says.

Walking outside the Golden Hall while the Hobbits walk down the steps Gandalf turns towards the Fairy Tail mages "Now then, Natsu, you saw Minas Tirith correct?" Gandalf asks.

"Big castle, looks like you would need a really, really, big army in order to invade the place?" Natsu answers.

"Correct, which is why I know that when Sauron attacks he will do so with an army that easily outnumbers even Saruman's army of Uruks that attacked Helm's Deep." Gandalf says.

"Sheesh does he really have an army that big?" Gray asks.

"And more. You saw how vast his land is, if he had it he could very well send all of Mordor to attack Minas Tirith and overwhelm it in a matter of hours and that's not even adding in his other allies that he will most likely call to aid him in battle. That is why I must ask that you accompany me to Minas Tirith, Natsu." Gandalf says.

"Me?" Natsu asks surprised by this as he points at himself.

"Yes. Having you there could boost our defenses by a little bit. Buy us the time we need for reinforcements of our own to arrive, if Theoden can as you would say it "get his head out of his ass" and make the right decision." Gandalf says.

"Why don't we all go? Surely having all of us there would be better than just one of us." Erza asks.

"It's as I said, Sauron will have his own reinforcements that may very well arrive when the Rohirrim do if not before, or after. And if that does happen, then they are going to need the rest of you if they are to survive the battle. Sauron is going to be throwing nearly everything he has at us and the forces of Men. He will be prepared for every possible contingency we have to make sure that when this battle ends, he will be the one emerging victorious. Which is why I ask that only Natsu comes with me and the rest of you stay here and ride with the Rohirrim and the others when the time comes." Gandalf says.

"Then let me at least come with you." Lucy suddenly speaks up catching everyone's attention.

"Lucy?" Natsu says with a shocked look in his eyes.

"You don't need all of us, but wouldn't having at least two mages at Minas Tirith be better than just one? Having just one more mage to add to the defenses might just help increase our odds of survival even more." Lucy says.

Natsu wanted to say something but with what he had in mind it wasn't exactly something that the others needed to hear "I guess that is true. Very well, you may come along to Lucy, but the rest of you stay here with Aragorn and the others." Gandalf says.

"As you wish." Erza says closing her eyes and bowing forward.

"Well not like we can go against you or anything." Gray says.

"Have fun you two, and try to leave some for the rest of us." Gajeel says with his toothy-grin.

"Be careful, Natsu-san, Lucy-san." Wendy says.

"Don't worry Wendy, we will." Lucy reassures her.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time. We must move." Gandalf says with urgency as he turns and begins walking down the steps with Natsu and Lucy coming after him while the rest of Team Natsu turns and walks back into the Golden Hall.

"Of all the inquisitive Hobbits, Peregrin Took, you are the worst!" Gandalf says as with the Hobbits following now, they make their way towards the stables.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Gandalf calls back with urgency.

Natsu and Lucy walk past Pippin and Merry who begin to converse with each other "Lucy, what was that?" Natsu asks.

Lucy turns her head towards him confused "Huh? What? I thought I'd come along and help out." Lucy replies.

"But you heard Gandalf, the army we're dealing with this time is going to be probably ten times as big as even that army of Uruks me and the others had to face at Helm's Deep. And that was ten thousand of them!" Natsu says.

"So?" Lucy asks.

Upon entering the stables Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist and pulled her off to the corner "Look, I'm just...worried is all. Maybe you should stay here, Erza or even Metal-head could come along instead and-"

"Oh no, no, no, no." Lucy says crossing her arms and shaking her head a few times, looking at Natsu annoyed "Natsu Dragneel I know you are **not** pulling this off after what just happened last night!" Lucy quietly states as Natsu is a bit taken back by this.

"You said so yourself that I shouldn't think myself as weak, and if that's the case, then I should be able to take care of myself during this battle no matter how big Sauron's army is. Or are you going back on your word and thinking I can't handle myself?" Lucy questions.

"Oh that is so not fair and you know it! I'm just…" Natsu sighs in defeat "Fine, you can come along." Natsu relents.

"Just...stay by my side at all times. Okay?" Natsu asks.

Lucy giggles and gives a small victory smile, before then leaning in and kissing Natsu on the cheek "Thank you." Lucy says as she walks past him with Natsu closing his eyes and sighing. "Oh, and Natsu." Natsu turns around hearing her call him as she lets out a sigh "I know what it is your feeling right now. Trust me, I've read a lot of romance novels. Sometimes the guys just get a bit too overprotective of their girl and don't want anything bad to happen to them. That's what your feelings are saying, right?" Lucy asks.

Natsu nods his head as Lucy walks back up to him "But you never had that feeling before, right? So why now?" Lucy asks.

"Guess it's just one of the new parts of the new me...and yeah. Now that I think about it, it does sound dumb since we get into daily fights one way or the other and I've always been okay with you being there, unless you get really hurt then that's different. And now when we're about to do the same thing again as always, the new side of me comes out and wants to be protective of you and not want you to get hurt." Natsu says.

Lucy puts her right hand to his cheek "It's okay to be protective over me, that's just how it is. Like how I can be protective over you as well. But considering what it is we do, we're going to get hurt, even if we try our hardest to make sure it doesn't. Natsu, this new side of you, there are definitely some things I like about it. But, then there's things like that, I just, they just aren't you. If we're really going to be doing **this** , then we can't let it change who we are. Not completely anyway." Lucy says as she looks up and gives him a reassuring smile.

Natsu smiles back down at her "Though if you could change a little bit, could you get rid of that destructive side of yours?" Lucy asks.

"Hm~, nah. I like that part a lot." Natsu says.

"Eh, it was worth a try I guess." Lucy says shrugging her shoulders.

"Man, this really is going to take some getting used to." Natsu says.

"Oh yeah, definitely. So remember though, no matter what, Team Natsu, is always together. Got it?" Lucy asks.

"Hehe, you got it." Natsu says giving his signature grin.

Gandalf lifts Pippin onto his horse Shadowfax "How far is Minas Tirith?" Pippin asks.

"Three days ride, as the Nazgul flies. And you better hope we don't have one of those on our tail." Gandalf says.

Merry walks up and hands something up to Pippin, a small wrapped up package "Something for the road." he says as Pippin takes it and immediately recognizes what it is.

"The last of the Longbottom Leaf." Pippin says confused on why he was giving it to him.

"I know you've run out. You smoke too much Pippin." Merry says.

"But-But we'll see each other soon." Pippin says with a pained look in his eyes not liking how this looked like it was going. Merry looked over at Gandalf who looked back at him before turning his attention back to Pippin as he mounted Shadowfax.

"Won't we?" Pippin asks.

"I don't know." Merry replies with pained honesty as he begins backing up slowly with tears forming in his eyes "I don't know what's going to happen."

"Merry…" Pippin says.

"Run Shadowfax. Show us the meaning of haste." Gandalf says.

"Merry!" Pippin calls out but is too late as Shadowfax takes off. Out of the stables where outside Natsu and Lucy await on Natsu's horse as it takes off after Shadowfax.

* * *

And thus the long journey to Minas Tirith had begun, for three days and nights Gandalf and Natsu rode their horses across open plains and through a forest without rest except for Pippin and Lucy who got their sleep when night fell. Gandalf saying that they did not have time to rest as every day that went by was another that Sauron got closer to launching his attack, Natsu understanding completely as he fought to make sure he didn't pass out while on his horse, it probably did help that he had already gone through sleep deprivation before when he and the others had to chase after the Uruk-hai that kidnapped Lucy, Wendy, Merry, and Pippin not that long ago. Lucy had of course offered to take the reins of the horse but Natsu was alright with it and allowed her to just relax and sleep.

After crossing a river and riding for a few more miles Gandalf spoke up "We've just passed into the realm of Gondor."

After a few more miles the horses galloped up a small hill and upon arriving at the top the group was greeted by the sight of Minas Tirith. The capital of Gondor was a massive city-fortification made completely of white stones built up against the mountain, with seven one-hundred foot high levels, each surrounded by their own walls as a spur of rock that was shaped like the bow of a ship, whose summit was level with the city's uppermost tier, jutted out from the front of the city in an easterly direction, dividing all but the first level into two. A tower like structure could be seen at the top level of the city along with a massive building which was most likely where the king's throne room sat.

"Minas Tirith. City of kings." Gandalf says as the group look upon the towering city.

"Whoa~." Lucy says as she and Natsu both had their mouths opened in awe.

"Now that, looks cool." Natsu says.

Riding through the city's massive gates the group begins making their way to the top floor, along the way garnering a lot of looks as soldiers and civilians alike walk, run, and do a variety of things all over the place going about their lives.

"Make way!" Gandalf yells warning people who quickly move aside to allow the horses through as they gallop through each and every level's gates and streets.

Finally the four make it to the top level area which was known as the Citadel of Minas Tirith, arriving at the top through the means of a stairway tunnel entry they are greeted at the sight before them of the White Tower of Ecthelion, the House of the King's which the throne room was located, and a courtyard where four curving patches of grass surrounded a dead white tree with four pathways leading to it. A small fountain and pool sat next to it along with three small stone benches as surrounding this part of the courtyard were four Guards of the Citadel, a special branch of soldiers whose job it was to guard the uppermost level of the city, and especially the courtyard as the armor they were looked more ceremonial then for combat purposes. Behind them was the rest of the seventh floor which was nothing more but a big viewing area on the spur rock where one see for miles and miles in all directions.

Dismounting their horses the group began making their way towards the House of the Kings; Pippin, Natsu, and Lucy looked over at the dead tree as immediately Pippin and Natsu recognized it as the one they saw when they held the palantir "It's the tree. Gandalf. Gandalf." Pippin says trying to attract his attention as he continued walking.

"Yes, the White Tree of Gondor. The tree of thee king. Lord Denethor however, is not king. He is a steward only, a caretaker of the throne." Gandalf explains.

"What's so important about a dead tree exactly?" Natsu asks.

"The White Tree is a symbol of Gondor, which is why you see it on their flags and armor. Of course like any other tree its true beauty is seen when it is full of life with white leaves covering it and floating in the wind. Some would say that this tree is the way it is now because its symbolizing Gondor's declining without their king. And unless the true king of Gondor returns, then Gondor might forever be in the terrible state it is now." Gandalf says.

"That's horrible." Lucy says.

"Indeed it is." Gandalf says.

Arriving at the doors Gandalf suddenly stops making the others stop as well "Now listen carefully all of you. Lord Denethor is Boromir's father. To give him news of his beloved son's death would be most unwise. And do not mention Frodo or the Ring." Gandalf says as he turns to enter, but then stops and turns to the others again "And say nothing of Aragorn either." Gandalf turns, only to turn back again after a few seconds of thought "In fact, it's better if none of you speak at all."

The mages and Pippin nod their heads understanding Gandalf as they finally walk in, the two guards stationed at the door opening it for them as they finally enter the House of the King's. A long, decorative hall with black pillars on either side, stone pedestals bearing the kings of the past between and a few feet behind them next to the walls, the end of the hall curves as also at the end was a small platform on which the throne of Gondor sat with a small staircase leading up to it, and next to the steps was another chair on which a figure could be seen sitting upon it.

The group walked up to the platform/throne chair "Hail Denethor, son of Ecthelion, lord and steward of Gondor." Gandalf says as the man sitting on the chair before them, was Denethor II, the twenty-sixth Ruling Steward of Gondor who hand long ray hair and wore a black robe with white, grayish fur around his wrists and going down his body and around his neck. Denethor had his head lowered for some reason as he appeared to be holding something in his hands, the Steward didn't even acknowledge the group making Natsu and the others curious as to why.

"I come with tidings in this dark hour, and with counsel." Gandalf speaks up trying to get his attention.

"Perhaps you come to explain this." Denethor says lifting up the item in his hands, and revealing it to be Boromir's horn, cloven in two. The sight of this shocks the group.

"Perhaps you come to tell me why my son is dead." Denethor says raising his head and looking at the group with grief in his eyes on the verge of tears.

Gandalf was now at a loss of words, after all, not only was he not there when Boromir died, but he also knew that this would complicate things more than they needed to be. After all Gandalf knew first-hand how difficult dealing with Denethor could be since he was power hungry, and at times could be completely unreasonable even if he was in the wrong. And it didn't help that out of his two sons, he favored Boromir the most and with his death, Gandalf could just tell that trying to talk sense into him would be next to impossible at this point, but he needed to try if Middle-Earth was to survive.

Meanwhile Natsu peered over at Lucy out of the corner of his eyes, and he could see the pained look in hers since he knew she was there when it happened, meaning seeing this was most likely bringing back that horrible memory to her head right now, along with Pippin. And indeed it was, as Pippin looked at Denethor in his head the memory of Boromir's death played in his head, how he got struck by one arrow, then another, and then the final one that brought him down. All the while he, Merry, Lucy, and Wendy stood idly by completely frozen in absolute shock watching it happen, unable to do anything.

"Boromir died to save us…my kinsman, me, and a few of our friends." Pippin spoke up making Denethor, Gandalf, Natsu, and Lucy look at him. "He fell defending us from many foes." Pippin continued as he took a few steps forward in front of Gandalf who tried to stop him "Pippin." he says but Pippin gets on his knee and bows in respect to Denethor.

Lucy was also about to take a step forward and claim responsibility for Boromir's death as well, when Natsu suddenly put his arm up in front of her, she looked at him and saw him shaking his head slowly with a serious look in his eyes. Lucy was taken back at first, feeling that Pippin shouldn't be taking all the blame but something told her the look on Natsu's face, he was doing it for a good reason and that maybe she should listen to him as she stays in place.

Denethor stares at Pippin, no emotion in his eyes as Pippin looked back up at him "I offer you my service, such as it is…" Gandalf sighs in annoyance "...in payment of this debt." Pippin finishes.

Denethor's face begins twitching in an eerie way before he begins speaking "This is my first command to you. How did you escape and my son did not...so mighty a man as he was?"

"The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow...and Boromir was pierced by many." Pippin says with a serious look on his face. Hearing this Denethor begins to whimper while lowering his head. Having enough of it seeing as he knew what Pippin had just gotten himself into Gandalf quickly steps forward and taps Pippin with his staff saying "Get up." as Pippin does just that and stands aside.

"My lord, there will be a time to grieve for Boromir...but it is not now. War is coming." as Gandalf speaks Denethor continues to look at the floor "The enemy is on your doorstep." Denethor suddenly raises his head and looks at Gandalf with anger in his eyes. "As steward, you are charged with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies? You still have friends. You are not alone in this fight." Natsu was not liking the look in Denethor's eyes one bit, almost like he didn't like what Gandalf was telling him "Send word to Theoden of Rohan. Light the beacons."

"You think you are wise, Mithrandir. Yet for all your subtleties, you have no wisdom." Denethor.

Not even ten minutes have passed and Natsu was already starting to get the feeling that he was going to hate the living guts out of this guy, and he was just about to find out why "Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know. With your left hand you would use me as a shield against Mordor. And with your right you'd seek to supplant me. I know who rides with Theoden of Rohan. Oh yes. Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And I tell you now, I will **bow** to this Ranger from the North...last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship." Denethor says with the anger in his voice rising.

Natsu and Lucy glared at Denethor while Pippin was in surprise of the things he knew somehow "Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the king, steward." Gandalf states.

Denethor shoots up from his chair and declares with a yell "The rule of Gondor is **mine** , and no other's."

Pippin's mouth is opened in absolute shock at hearing this, this man who wasn't even a real king, would not give up his power to Aragorn who was the rightful king of Gondor. Natsu grits his teeth as Lucy continues to glare angrily at Denethor, it was official, this guy was mad with power and he was not going to give it up, no matter what. Even if his people and kingdom were in danger. "And no one will take that away from me. Not you, not this Ranger, and not even you little friends from another world. Gondor will be mine to rule until the day I die." Denethor says, causing a bit of shock to the group who questioned on just how he knew that about Natsu and Lucy. At this point Natsu just about had it with this guy and oh so badly wanted to go up there and give him a piece of his mind, but he had a feeling Gandalf, nor Lucy, would've liked it one bit.

With nothing else to do, Gandalf turned "Come." he says to the others as he begins walking with Pippin, Natsu, and Lucy following after him. Denethor then sits down while still giving a souring stare at the walking away group "All has turned to vain ambition. He would even use his grief as a cloak." Gandalf says in utter disbelief and anger at this. The guards at the door open it as Gandalf and the others walk out.

"Not even ten minutes with that guy and I already wanted to punch the living crap out of him." Natsu states.

"For once I'm with Natsu on this, that man does not deserve to be a ruler of any kind. Especially over a kingdom that's not even rightfully his. And I can just tell by how this place looks that he's doing a horrible job at taking care of it." Lucy says.

"As much as it would've brought me such joy to see you knock some sense into him Natsu, doing so would not have helped our situation any more. A thousand years this city has stood. Now at the whim of a madman, it will fall. And the White Tree, the tree of the king...will never bloom again." Gandalf says.

"Why are they still guarding it?" Pippin asks.

"They guard it because they have hope. A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower again. That a king will come and this city will be as it once was...before it fell into decay. The old wisdom borne out of the West was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls, musing on heraldry. Or in high, cold towers, asking questions of the stars. And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin." as Gandalf speaks the group walk out on the spur rock walkway, getting very close to the tip of the rock where there was an opening between the side railings as Gandalf walked over to the left side railing.

"The line of kings failed. The White Tree withered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men." Gandalf finishes as Pippin, Natsu, and Lucy stood behind him. Just then the three turned their heads and looked straight through the opening of the railing at the sight that was before them "Mordor." Pippin says taking a few steps towards it.

The dark clouds ever so present over the dark land with lava shooting up into it, illuminating it with orange lighting for a few miles around. "Yes, there it lies. This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow." Gandalf says.

"Sheesh, talk about keeping your enemies close." Natsu says.

"No kidding." Lucy says with a bit of fright at seeing how close they were to where the enemy of Middle-Earth and his armies resided.

"A storm is coming." Pippin says taking notice of the dark clouds which seemed to be moving towards them.

"This is not the weather of the world. This is a device of Sauron's making. A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight, so he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the Shadow of Mordor reaches this city...it will begin." Gandalf says.

"Well…" Pippin says at a loss of words "...Minas Tirith…" the way he says it catches Gandalf and the others' attention as he looked up at him "...very impressive. So where are we off to next?" Pippin asks as he looks about ready to walk back to Shadowfax and ride out of here.

"Oh it's too late for that Peregrin." Gandalf says making Pippin's smile drop "There's no leaving this city. Why do you think I brought Natsu and Lucy along, if we came here just to talk then it would've been just the two of us." Gandalf says before looking back forward with a serious look in his eyes. "Help must come to us."

Natsu looks at Lucy and takes notice of the nervous sweat and look in eyes as she looks at the ground out of the corner of them, making him smirk humorously "Regretting coming along now?" he asks.

"N-No...M-Maybe...Shut up!" Lucy says with an annoyed tone closing her eyes and looking away with a pout as Natsu couldn't help but chuckle lightly. Putting a hand on her shoulder, Lucy looks back at him and drops her pout upon seeing him smiling at her "Like I said, just stick close to me… Alright?" Natsu says, Lucy is silent at first as her cheeks blush before she smiles back and nods her head saying "Yeah."

 _Meanwhile…_

Somewhere deep in a forest next to Mordor, Frodo, Sam, Happy, Carla, and Lily continue to follow Gollum as the sun appears to be going down "It must be getting near teatime. Leastways it would be in decent places where there is still teatime." Sam says as Gollum stops and turns back looking at him.

"We're not in decent places." he says before continuing forward snarling a few times.

"I mean, he isn't wrong there." Lily says.

Frodo suddenly stops, Sam and the Exceeds noticing this as they stop and turn around "Mr. Frodo?" Sam asks wondering why he stopped. Frodo is looking at the ground until Sam calls him, making him look back up as he then remains silent with a blank stare in his eyes "What is it?" Sam asks again.

"...It's just a feeling...I don't think I'll be coming back." Frodo says.

Hearing this Lily grunts while Happy and Carla gasp in shock, Sam however seems to remain unfazed by this as he walks over to Frodo "Yes you will. Of course you will. That's just morbid thinking. We're going there and back again, just like Mr. Bilbo. You'll see. Isn't that right guys?" Sam says asking the Exceeds.

Their spirits raised by Sam saying this, their shocked looks turn into one of relief and then joy "Yeah!" Happy yells raising his paws.

"Indeed." Lily says with a smirk.

"As long as we're here, nothing will happen to you, Frodo. You'll see your home again." Carla says.

"See." Sam says, Frodo remains silent with the grim look still on his face before moving on. Sam and the others watching with a bit of sadness seeing this.

Walking a bit more the group soon comes into an open area where a stone statue could be seen off to the side, it appeared to be of a human king as he sat in his throne chair. However, it appeared that the statue had some vandalizing done to it as red paint could be seen at the bottom in a few spots, most likely a sign of Orcs from Mordor as a message that this land was no longer under human control.

"I think these lands were once part of the kingdom of Gondor. Long ago, when there was a king." Frodo says as the group come to a stop and look up. Only to see that where the head was supposed to be, instead it had been destroyed and replaced with a boulder with rusty iron ringed around it, an insignia of Mordor painted onto the rock also in red paint. As they walked past it Frodo looked to his left, and spotted under some growing bushes the head of the statue.

All of a sudden the sun broke through the clouds, illuminating the area around the group as getting a strange feeling Sam turned around "Mr. Frodo, look." Sam says as Frodo and the Exceeds turn around and look back at the statue's head.

"The king has got a crown again." Sam says as the light revealed the crown of the king sticking up through the bushes. Seeing this sight brought some joy to the group, kind of seeing it as a sign that maybe some good things were to come again. But that joy all the soon disappeared in an instant when the dark clouds of Mordor blocked out the sun again, casting the area, and the statue's head back into darkness.

"Well, that got a bit...foreboding." Lily speaks up.

"Aye…" Happy says with fear in his voice.

"Come on Hobbits and Kitties! Mustn't stop now. This way." Gollum calls, urging them on with great haste as the five turn and start following Gollum again.

* * *

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

Night had fallen, to say Natsu and Lucy were really confused on how housing, and or hotels worked here at Minas Tirith was an understatement, since the buildings of the city were so...unique, compared to the stuff they were used too at the very least. Luckily with help from Gandalf the group found a place they could rest for the night and got two rooms, one for him and Pippin, the other for Natsu and Lucy. With not much else to do Natsu did get some rest before he and Lucy came over to Gandalf and Pippin's room to find out the next course of action, or at the very least just stand/sit around and talk.

Gandalf was out on the balcony leaning against the pillar of an archway smoking his pipe, Natsu and Lucy were of in the corner of the same balcony looking out into the city and distant land. Though with the sight of Mordor literally in front of them it was all but a peaceful viewing of Gondor, and in the room Pippin, who had been delivered his new outfit to serve Denethor in looked over the clothes as well as his new sword.

"So I imagine this is just a ceremonial position." Pippin asks lifting up the sheath and pulling the sword out a little to get a little look at it before pushing it back in. "I mean," Pippin placed the weapon back on the bed "they don't actually expect me to do any fighting." Pippin says with a nervous chuckle before looking up at Gandalf.

"Do they?" he asks with now an even more nervous look on his face.

"You're in the service of the steward now. You'll have to do as you're told Peregrin Took." Gandalf answers as he begins coughing a few times. Pippin fills up a cup of water "Ridiculous Hobbit." Gandalf says under his breath "Guard of the Citadel." he says coughing a few more times that he took his pipe out of his mouth as Pippin walked over to give Gandalf the water.

"Thank you." Gandalf says taking the cup to drink a little.

"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask you Natsu but why did you stop me from taking some of the blame about Boromir's death? I feel bad that Pippin's being forced to take the full front of the blame when I had a hand in not being able to do anything as well when his son died in front of us." Lucy says with sadness in her voice thinking back to that moment again.

"You saw and even said so yourself how much of an ass that Denethor bastard was. I got a bad feeling right off him the minute we entered that room and saw him. And the minute I saw Boromir's horn in his hands, I knew things just got worse. The second Pippin stepped forward to take blame I knew you were going to do it too. And I couldn't let that happen." Natsu says.

"But why?" Lucy asks.

"Because...what Pippin's doing, it's not as bad as what I feel like would've happened to you if you stepped forward and offered your service to him as well to repay for what happened to Boromir. That bastard is sick as it is, and I don't even want to think about how more sick he could get if you did what Pippin did." Natsu says.

"Once again, I find myself agreeing with Natsu. He made a good choice for once." Gandalf says.

"Oh, thanks old man...Hey!" Natsu yells annoyed upon realizing what he said.

"You may not have seen it, but there are some things I have heard. Terrible, things that a man would do to a poor woman in this world because their mind is sick, and full of evil. And in the state Denethor is in, as Natsu said, if you offered him your services it would not be joining Pippin as Guard of the Citadel. No...the least that would happen would be you are resorted to doing things any other women in this world does, cleaning, cooking, maybe even serving food to the soldiers. But then there are the worse things he could have you do, especially to someone as young and beautiful as yourself." Gandalf says.

And like that shivers were sent down Lucy's spine as she hugged herself and shook a little with creeped out eyes "Okay...I can see your point." Lucy says.

"Don't worry about it Lucy, I'll be fine. Besides, just got to do some guarding is all...and...maybe some fighting…" Pippin says, the last part a bit unsure and frightened of.

Still though what Gandalf had said creeped out Lucy a bit as she continues shivering, lucky for her, while Gandalf and Pippin weren't looking as they looked back out towards Mordor, Natsu wrapped his arm around her and looked down. Just looking at his eyes, how sincere they looked, Lucy could just tell what he was thinking and that was that as long as he was around he wasn't going to let that happen to her, and if Denethor tried anything he would beat the shit out of him in a heartbeat. Pippin looked up at the sky and just looked at how the clouds of Mordor loomed overhead, the wind picking up, and the continuous booming sound erupting from Mount Doom.

"There's no more stars… Is it time?" Pippin asks.

"Yes." Gandalf quietly says.

Pippin walks up to and leans on the railing, another eruption from Mount Doom lighting his face up a bit in orange light from the lava. "It's so quiet." Pippin says.

"It's the deep breath before the plunge." Gandalf says.

"I don't want to be in a battle...but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse." Pippin says as Gandalf walks up to his side, Natsu and Lucy turning to face them. "Is there any hope Gandalf, for Frodo and Sam?" Pippin asks.

Gandalf leans on the railing with him "There never was much hope." catching the other's attention as Pippin looks up at him, Natsu and Lucy a bit in shock since after all Happy and the other Exceeds were with them. And if Gandalf was saying there was no hope…

"Just a fool's hope." Gandalf says turning and looking at Pippin with a smile. Relaxing him and the Fairy Tail mages "Hey, you never know. With Happy and the others with those two. I'm sure there's a lot more hope now. After all, they're Fairy Tail mages." Natsu says making Gandalf chuckle while Pippin smiles.

Looking back at Mordor, the smiles of the four all but disappear again with a serious one replacing them "Our enemy is ready. His full strength's gathered. Not only Orcs, but Men as well. Legions of Haradrim from the south, Mercenaries from the coast. All will answer Mordor's call. This will be the end of Gondor as we know it. Here the hammer stroke will fall hardest. If the river is taken, if the garrison at Osgiliath falls...the last defense of this city will be gone." Gandalf says.

"But we have something they don't. The White Wizard, and two mages of Fairy Tail. That's got to count for something." Pippin says trying to raise the mood.

"Hehe" Natsu chuckles as he slams his fist into his palm "It sure as hell does." Natsu says with a toothy grin as Lucy also looks at them with a ready look in her eyes "We'll teach them a lesson of what happens when they mess with Fairy Tail!" Lucy says pumping her right fist up.

Gandalf looks at the three with a smile, but one that disappears as he looks back at Mordor and straightens himself, worrying the three as to why he got really solemn all of a sudden. "Gandalf?" Pippin says.

"Sauron has yet to reveal his deadliest servant...the one who will lead Mordor's armies in war. The one they say no living man can kill. The Witch-King of Angmar. You've all met him before." Gandalf says as he turns and looks at them.

"He stabbed Frodo on Weathertop."

Hearing this brings back horrible memories of that night, the one Ringwraith that stabbed Frodo with the Morgul blade as Pippin remembers it. Natsu and Lucy didn't arrive in time to witness that, but if what they remember correctly was true of what the hobbits had told them and Aragorn afterwards, then the one that Natsu straight up blew away with his Fire Dragon Roar, that was the one that had stabbed Frodo. "He is the lord of the Nazgul, the greatest of the Nine. Minas Morgul is his lair."

"The greatest of the Nine? 'Cause last time I checked the first time I met him I blew him straight off Weathertop without even breaking a sweat." Natsu says with his toothy grin and arms crossed.

"Their weakness is fire right? If that's the case then Natsu's got that covered no problem." Lucy says.

"That was because when you met him he was not at his full power." Gandalf says as Natsu's cocky grin and Lucy's smile drop in one of shock "When he was hunting Frodo, he was nowhere near his full power because he was chasing after four Hobbits. Hardly any trouble don't you think, Aragorn only got lucky because of that too. But now that he knows what to expect, and since Sauron knows that you are here, the Witch-King will be more prepared this time. He will be at his full strength when he comes, and he will not be so easily defeated as before. Even I, may find some difficulty facing him in battle. You must not underestimate him, no matter what." Gandalf says.

 _Meanwhile…_

Exiting from a cave Frodo, Happy, and their group follow Gollum up to a road and duck down beside it, before them was a massive, spectral fortress on the other side of a moat. A single tower stood out at the center reaching high into the air, surrounded by high walls which were illuminated by a green luminous glow that made the sight of the fortress even more eerie. A bridge connected the fortress to the road as on either side at the bridge's entrance were two stone, gargoyle-like creature statues which had their tongues sticking out.

"The Dead City. Very nasty place. Full of enemies." Gollum says.

Carla shivers "Just looking at that place gives me the creeps." Carla says.

"Then it's a good thing we're not going in there." Lily says as Gollum leaps up onto the road. The others follow "Quick. Quick. They will see. They will see." Gollum says with worry as he begins climbing up some rocks with Sam and the Exceeds following, the group failing to notice Frodo stop in his tracks and stare towards one of the statues.

"Come away. Come away. Look, we have found it. The way into Mordor." Gollum calls catching back Frodo's attention as he gestures to the group to look up which they do, seeing that going up the sheer mountain wall was a very, very...very long line of steps carved into said mountain wall. "The Secret stair."

The "stairs" were anything but that since the only way to get up them would be climbing, and it looked like it went on for so long considering how high the mountain was that they couldn't even see the top. "Climb." Gollum says.

"Wouldn't it be faster to just use our wings?" Happy asks.

"No! Not unless you want the Orcs to see your glowing white wingses." Gollum says.

"He does have a point unfortunately. Place this dark, our wings would easily stand out for miles." Lily says as the Exceeds and Sam begin to reluctantly make their way towards the stairs. Once again they fail to notice Frodo turn and look back, this time towards Minas Morgul himself as his eyes widened in terror and he seemed to enter a state of trance, voices calling to him in his head as he began making his way towards the bridge clutching the Ring.

"No Mr. Frodo!" Sam calls.

"Frodo!" the Exceeds yell.

"Not that way!" Gollum yells.

Gollum begins to whine in a panic as he, Sam, and the Exceeds quickly jump down and run after him "What's it doing?!" Gollum questions as Frodo only gets but a few feet past the statues before Sam grabs and starts pulling him back with a "No!"

"They're calling to me." Frodo says still looking at the fortress.

"No." Gollum says as he too begins helping Sam pull him back as Frodo attempts to continue forward, Lily shifts into Battle Mode and quickly wraps his arms around Frodo, lifting him off the ground and pulling him back. As this is happening a strange whistling sound begins emitting from Minas Morgul, and as the group gets back away from the statues the entire ground begins violently shaking beneath their feet with a flash of orange light erupting from the fortress. The group is knocked to the ground and as they look back, for a split second the sounds stop, but suddenly a strange mist of some kind begins surrounding the tower before then shooting straight up into the air as strange green energy of some kind. The green energy shoots through the air and the clouds, the clouds around it converging into it as a screeching sound now erupts from the place. Frodo looks on in shock while still clutching the Ring beneath his shirt.

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

A strange green tower of energy shoots up into the sky somewhere from within Mordor, the distance not that far from where the ruins of Osgiliath were located. Seeing this Gandalf, Pippin, Natsu, and Lucy shoot straight up and look on in shock, the latter three in confusion as to what in the world that strange energy was.

 _Back near Minas Morgul…_

Sam helps Frodo back onto his feet as Gollum scrambles to get behind the rocks "I don't like the look of that!" Carla says.

"Hide! Hide!" Gollum yells as Sam begins pushing Frodo and the Exceeds follow after Gollum with Lily reverting back to his normal form.

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

Not just Gandalf and the others, but the entire city of Minas Tirith, all the soldiers and civilians still awake/on guard duty take notice of this strange sight and look on in shock, awe, and fright considering where it was coming from. Pippin backs up into Gandalf who puts his arm around to comfort him, same for Natsu as he holds Lucy in his arms as the two look on not liking the look of that thing at all.

 _Back near Minas Morgul…_

Getting behind the rocks, the strange energy dies down as the group peek out over the rocks to see what is going on. Just then, a Fellbeast appears on top of the gate, atop it one of the Ringwraith's. But this one, was different. It wore a strange, intimidating helmet with a large hole over where the "face" would be with two parts curving inward near the bottom, two eye slits, and the top was surrounded by spikes sticking outwards with one long one going upwards and it had on two shoulder pauldrons. This, was The Witch-King of Angmar.

The Witch-King looked around as the Fellbeast continued to roar, making Frodo and the others duck down as then a very, very ear piercing screech erupted. One that sounded like the Ringwraith's, but much worse as the Hobbits, Exceeds, and Gollum all covered their ears and cringed in absolute pain. Frodo couldn't hold it as he felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, the location where he had been stabbed before by the Witch-King "I can feel his blade." Frodo says as finally the screech of his comes to a halt. The fellbeast roars again and looks down, the gates of Minas Morgul begin to open and from within a massive horde of Orcs begin marching out in a large column.

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

"We come to it at last." Gandalf says as Pippin and the others look at him "The great battle of our time."

 _Back at Minas Morgul…_

The army of Orcs begin marching across the bridge, torches alight amongst them as their feet beat rhythmically on the ground, spears and banners raised in the air, and now even trolls, fully decked out in armor begin marching out as this army looked like it was ready for battle...for war.

From their hiding spot the Hobbits and Exceed watch the Orcs march by, out of fear of being seen though they quickly ducked back down behind the rock "That...is a lot of Orcs." Lily says.

"No doubt about it, whatever that green energy was that shot up into the air, looks like its purpose was to act as a signal." Carla says.

"A signal to what?" Happy asks.

Carla looks at him "That it's time for war." Carla says.

"Agreed, I don't even need to see the remaining numbers to tell that these guys, this isn't some battle. They're decked and ready for an entire war." Lily says.

"I sure hope Natsu and the others don't get caught up in it." Natsu fearfully says for his partner and other friends' lives.

The fellbeast finally took off from the gate, Frodo and the others lowered to the ground as it and the Witch-King flew overhead and away from them "Come away Hobbits, Kitties. We climb. We must climb." Gollum says.

And so they did. The group began their long journey up the Secret Stairs with Gollum, Frodo and Sam in the lead and the Exceeds following. Hoping that they wouldn't need to spread their wings since then there was the chance of them being spotted, but with any luck if such a thing did need to occur hopefully it was when they were higher where then the Orcs might not spot them so easily, or be able to attack them if they did. However with how focused them appeared to be on going to fight it didn't seem like they would even notice, but the Exceeds weren't about to risk it.

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

"The board is set… The pieces are moving." Gandalf says.

 _Back on the Stairs…_

Luckily it is not long until the group reaches the first platform, appearing that there were some platforms after a certain number of stairs which they could use to rest when they needed to. But now was not that time since they had just started "Up, up, up the stairs we go. And then it's the tunnel." Gollum says with a mysterious grin on his face.

"Hey, what's in this tunnel?" Sam asks.

Gollum hearing Sam attempts to crawl away but is immediately caught and slammed against the wall "You listen to me, and you listen good and proper. Anything happens to him, you have me, and my Exceed friends to answer to. And trust me, as you already know, you do not want to mess with Lily when he gets bigger. One sniff something's not right, one hair stands up on the back of my head, it's over. No more slinker. No more stinker. You're gone. Got it? We're watching you." Sam quietly says with anger in his voice.

The Exceeds stand by watching this before following after Sam, as Frodo is to having of stopped to watch and question what Sam was doing to Gollum "What was that about?" he asks as Sam climbs up behind him.

"Nothing. Just clearing something up." Sam replies.

The group continue climbing up, Gollum still lying against the wall as a sinister smile comes to his face.

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

"Peregrin Took my lad, there is a task now to be done. Another opportunity for one of the Shire-folk to prove their great worth." Gandalf says as the group walks with haste through the city. Gandalf stops and kneels down facing Pippin putting a hand on his shoulder "You must not fail me." he says, Pippin with a determined look in his eyes knows what he is talking about as he runs off, his mission, to go light the Beacon of Minas Tirith. All he had to do was light it, since Denethor would not order it most likely, and like that the other Beacons would follow without question until eventually the one in Rohan is lit up to signal to the King and people of Rohan that Gondor was in need of aid.

"What do we do until then?" Lucy asks.

"I have nothing for you Lucy, you will stay with me. Natsu, for you on the other hand. I have a task for you to do. You must help buy us time, as much as you can for the beacons to reach Rohan and signal them of our peril. With any luck, the Rohirrim will answer and Aragorn and the others will come swiftly." Gandalf says.

"Alright, what is it?" Natsu asks.

* * *

 _Osgiliath…_

The night was quiet over at the ruins of Osgiliath, a fog bank had rolled over the river as the garrison of Gondor soldiers and Ithilien Rangers stationed there were ever so vigilant especially after that little light show not that long ago. At the current moment most of the soldiers were sitting down, resting, eating, or sharpening their weapons with a few patrols still walking about keeping their eyes peeled. Faramir walked through the ruins until he finally found who he was looking for, Madril, as he joined alongside him "It's been very quiet across the river. The Orcs are lying low. The garrison may have moved out." Madril says as the two look across the river.

"We've sent scouts to Cair Andros. If the Orcs attack from the north, we'll have some warning."

Just then "Captain."

Faramir and Madril turn around to see a Gondor soldier behind them "You, may want to come see this."

Following the Gondor soldier the two Rangers arrive at the back of Osgiliath where all their horses are held, where they see a group of Gondor soldiers and Ithilien Rangers all with their weapons out and pointed forward at someone. Stepping through them as the soldiers move aside, Faramir finds himself facing a young man with very strange looking clothes, and even stranger pink colored hair as he had his hands up but an annoyed look in his eyes.

"And just who are you supposed to be? Speak quickly." Faramir demands.

"Name's Natsu Dragneel. Friend of Gandalf the White." Natsu answers.

"And what brings you here, Natsu Dragneel. This is not a place for civilians." Faramir says.

"Who said I was a civilian? Gandalf sent me here to help you and your boys out for when the Orcs started attacking. When they hit they're gonna hit fast, hard, and with high numbers. I'm here to try and help even the odds out a little bit." Natsu says.

"And what can you do to help us should the orcs attack? You are but a child." Faramir says.

At that Natsu lights up both of his fists frightening the soldiers who all take a step back because of it "A child that can control and use fire to kick ass. And trust me, I have a lot more experience than you think." Natsu says with a toothy-grin.

Madril pulls Faramir over to the side "Faramir, are we really going to put our trust into this...boy or whatever he is?" Madril asks, all the while he asks this Natsu suddenly picks up something with his nose. It was a scent of some kind, a familiar one, problem was though was that it was weak as he barely picked it up meaning that whatever or whoever the scent belonged to had long been gone from this place. Sniffing again caught the attention of the two Rangers as they along with their soldiers stared at Natsu confused by what he was doing "What are you doing?" Faramir questions.

Natsu ignored this as he continued sniffing the air, just barely catching whiff of that familiar scent again, it was very...fishy. And a very, very familiar kind to as his eyes widened in shock upon realizing that scent. It was Happy's! "That scent...hey! Did you guys see a blue cat come through here? Talk maybe? Also maybe had wings depending?" Natsu asks not sure of whether he should be saying those last two bits or not since they would probably think he's crazy.

Upon hearing that description however, Faramir's eyes also widened in shock. A blue cat? "Are you...are you a friend of the Exceed known as Happy?" Faramir asks.

Natsu grunted "Not only that, we're partners! You know him?! How long ago was he here?!"

However before Faramir can answer him the sound of a body falling and hitting the ground hard is heard by him, his men, and Natsu who all look at the direction it came from. Madril and the soldiers quickly start running to find out what happened as Faramir looks back at Natsu "I'll explain more later, but if you are here to help and are indeed Happy's friend, you are more than welcome to." he says before running off with Natsu quickly following.

Running in the direction the sound came from the two spot a large gathering of soldiers who are all murmuring in shock at what they see and make their way through, coming upon the body of a dead Gondor soldier with an arrow in him. Faramir looks up as it dawns upon him what is happening "They're not coming from the north."

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **Guest -** Appearing in Middle-Earth no. But when Team Natsu returns I'll be having a few members appear at the Guild.

To **Shadowwolf 1997 -** Mass Effect I do plan on doing a crossover with Lord of the Rings when I feel like it, Bleach I've never seen the anime yet so I would need to do that first before I can decide.

To **LilLinkGirl -** I know ;). But at least it was worth it was it not then just ending with the second film?

To **R98 -** Maybe. I would have to finish Neo-Heisei Riders Tail first since the last thing I want to do is have TWO Crossovers with people going into the Fairy Tail Universe since that's longer then, well this.

To **iloveTanks -** The only Final Fantasy game I've played if X, and while I do have 15 I haven't gotten around to playing it yet.


	16. Calm Before the Storm

"To the river. Quick. Quick. Go. Come on." Faramir quietly orders to his men rushing past them, ushering Madril forward as Natsu follows after him. Every soldier in Osgiliath was now on full alert, knowing full well that the Orcs were coming across the river as they grab their weapons and rush towards it "I hope you are as good as you say you are." Faramir says to Natsu.

Natsu grins "I'll give them my full A game."

With his enhanced hearing Natsu could hear the speed of the paddling Orcs pick up, and another thing he picked up was how many there was, a lot. On the river a large number of wooden boats could be seen, all of them carrying between 10-20 Orcs each as they drew closer to the shore of Gondor's side of Osgiliath. The Gondor soldiers meanwhile got into position, pressing themselves up against and behind walls all over near the shore preparing to ambush the Orcs as soon as Faramir gave the signal too. Closer, and closer the Orcs got as all the Gondor soldiers waited in their positions, looks of terror on many of their faces since they could tell that a massive, massive force was coming their way. Natsu got up against a wall a few feet behind Faramir with Madril across from him as Madril looked at Faramir and nodded his head that they were ready and awaiting for his signal.

The first Orc boat hit the shore and its ramp dropped, allowing the Orcs onboard to start storming off as one by one more ramps dropped in quick succession and more Orcs stormed into the city. The Orcs ran through Osgiliath, completely unaware of the lying in wait Gondor soldiers as many Orcs began passing Faramir, Madril, and Natsu. Faramir's breathing began picking up, waiting, just waiting for the moment to attack, when suddenly.

Natsu lights up his right arm and throws it outwards clotheslining an Orc as he then steps out right into the open catching Faramir and his men's attention "Let me give you Orcs a Fairy Tail welcome. **Roar of the Fire Dragon!** " Natsu yells as he closes his fists and puts them in front of his mouth, creating a funnel of which he spews his fire forth in a more controlled manner. The fire immediately engulfs many Orcs in his path and even flies towards a large group of Orc boats, most of which haven't hit the shore yet as the eyes of one of the Orcs widens in shock. An explosion erupts in which many boats and the Orcs aboard them are destroyed, with the ground having of shook a little, and even some water falling from the sky, Faramir and his men's eyes all widened in absolute shock at what they had just witnessed and felt. They could not believe that this boy, was capable of that!

"Come on! What are you all waiting for?! Show these Orcs what soldiers of Gondor are made of!" Natsu yells.

And like that, it seemed that the morale of the soldiers had just gone up as looks of determination appeared on Faramir, Madril, and many other soldiers' faces. Hearing footsteps rapidly approaching Faramir launched himself out from cover into the path of an Orc, the Orc tried to cut him down by Faramir drove his blade right into its gut. Madril came out of cover next and cut down another Orc, upon this all the Gondor soldiers exited out from their cover and engaged the Orcs, catching many of them off guard and taking them out before they could react.

"For Gondor!"

"Give it to them!"

Another Orc ran off its boat, only to be met by an Ithilien Ranger who swung his sword across its gut taking it out, nearby a Gondor soldier slammed a punch into another Orcs face knocking it to the ground. While the fighting spirits of the soldiers had been raised, that wasn't to say it made them invincible as already there were a few soldiers getting cut down by the Orcs.

"Hold! Hold them!"

Faramir engaged another Orc in a duel, blocking its sword until he got an opening and took it slashing the Orc across the neck. Turning his head to the right he sees another Orc appear in the doorway he's next to as it swings its mace which Faramir ducks under, before he can retaliate Natsu appears slamming his fire coated feet into the Orc sending it flying. Getting back up Natsu quickly runs off as he looks after him "A group of "special warriors" that she cat said. I can believe it now." Faramir says before turning and running off to engage more Orcs.

Another boat arrives as the first Orc disembarks it, a group of Gondor soldiers stand ready to engage the Orcs that charge off it when "Move it!" Natsu says pushing his way through two of the soldiers. **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells slamming his fire coated fist into the Orc, propelling him back sideways as the Orc slams into its fellow Orcs still on the boat and knocks the majority of them down.

" **Roar of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells sending another blast of fire forward taking out more Orc boats in another massive explosion.

The Gondor soldiers let out a cheer for Natsu to which he turns around and gives a serious toothy-grin to "Come on! Let's show these Orcs how strong we really are!" one of the Gondor soldiers yell as the group of soldiers lets out a battle cry and disperses to deal with more Orcs.

As Natsu begins running he hears something off in the distance to his left and turns. Far off from his position he takes notice of a large wooden ramp suddenly being dropped forward onto the destroyed bridge, landing as then a horde of Orcs begin swarming over it and onto Gondor's side of Osgiliath. "Well that's not good." Natsu says since now the Orc army was swarming their way over into the city.

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

"Okay, that's two explosions so far we've heard. You don't think...the people of Gondor will be mad if their city gets a little bit more destroyed, do they?" Lucy nervously asks Gandalf.

"Osgiliath is still protected even in its current state, because not only does it serve as the last line of defense between here and Mordor. But because it was also their former capital in ancient times before Minas Tirith was." Gandalf says.

Lucy sighs closing her eyes "Yeah, that sounds like they might be a tad bit mad." she says.

Looking back up at the beacon Lucy sees that it is still not lit "Hope Pippin's alright. You sure I shouldn't have gone? I can be stealthy too, and if needed to I could've used one of my Celestial Spirits to help out." Lucy says.

"No, it is alright Lucy. I feel that with his set of skills, he will be just fine. Besides, he is a hobbit after all, would be a lot harder to see then, well you considering how much your hair would stand out. No offense but bit too bright for a stealth mission, don't you think?" Gandalf says.

"Hehe, none taken." Lucy says embarrassed.

As the two look back up, the sight of seeing the first beacon light up in flames brings smiles to their faces "Come." Gandalf says as he walks off with Lucy following behind.

Rushing up onto the wall Gandalf and Lucy look out at where the next beacon should be "Amon Din." Gandalf says as now the two wait and see if the chain reaction will begin. And sure enough, up on the snowy mountain another bright flash of fire erupts into the air, it had begun.

"The beacon! The beacon of Amon Din is lit!" A Gondor soldier yells in surprise.

Meanwhile from his quarters, Denethor stares at this with absolute anger in his eyes before backing away.

"Hope is kindled." Gandalf says as more Gondor soldiers gather around the two to see this.

And like that, one after another, the beacons of Gondor were lit as the men stationed at each one seeing each beacon before them lit then light theirs aflame signaling to the next beacon to light theirs, and then the next, and the process was repeated again and again. Even into the night across the mountains the beacons continued to be lit as the bright fires could be seen for miles around.

 _Edoras…_

The sun was rising for another day, Aragorn could be seen sitting on the steps of a building with a bowl of hot soup in his hands. When something catches his attention, off in the nearby mountains the final beacon of Minas Tirith had been lit, standing up and taking a few steps forward Aragorn looks towards the burning fire while setting the bowl down on a nearby table. In a split second Aragorn turns and starts running as fast as he can up the steps towards the Golden Hall, reaching the top he slams the doors open and begins yelling "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit!" this catches everyone's attention as well as Theoden, and Gamling who are at a table going over a map when they turn and look up at him.

"Gondor calls for aid." Aragorn says running up to them sweating like crazy.

Off to the side Eowyn walks in as she and Eomer look at the scene, Legolas, and the remaining Fairy Tail mages all look as well as all eyes are drawn towards Theoden to see what his answer to this is. He remains silent for a few seconds, before then giving it "And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim." he orders.

Gamling and Eomer follow along with all the other Rohirrim in the room as they move out, Eomer putting a reassuring hand on his sister's shoulder before doing so "Alright!" Gajeel says with a toothy-grin.

"Time for some action." Gray says.

"Natsu-san, and Lucy-san are waiting for us." Wendy says.

Erza nods her head "Let's go!"

A few minutes go by, a Rohirrim rings the city's bell repeatedly striking it with a hammer as to signal all Rohirrim to prepare to ride out as all over the soldiers of Rohan mount their horses and get ready for the journey ahead. The doors to the Golden Hall open as Theoden walks out in his full armor followed by Eomer "Assemble the army at Dunharrow. As many men as can be found. You have two days." Theoden stops and puts a hand on Eomer's shoulder bringing his attention back "On the third, we ride for Gondor and war." Eomer nods his head understanding his task as he heads off.

"Forward."

"Very good sir."

"Gamling." Theoden calls as he walks over to his lieutenant.

"My lord."

"Make haste across the Riddermark. Summon every able-bodied man to Dunharrow." Theoden says.

"I will." Gamling replies as he walks off.

Walking to the perch Theoden overlooks all the Rohirrim below, many of which are on their horses forming up while there are others still on foot.

Eowyn brings out a horse from the stable next to Aragorn who's getting his horse ready "Will you ride with us?" he asks curious.

"Just to the encampment. It's tradition for the women of the court to farewell the men." Eowyn replies while readying her horse. Turning around Aragorn looks at Eowyn to see her distracted as he lifts up a blanket on the saddle, revealing a hidden sword as Eowyn takes notice and quickly covers it back up looking at Aragorn annoyed by it. Aragorn looks away like he pretended he didn't see anything "The men have found their captain. They will follow you into battle, even to death. You have given us hope." Eowyn says.

Back up on the perch "Excuse me." Merry says as he holds a sheathed away sword in his hands. Theoden turns around and looks at him "I have a sword. Please accept it." Merry asks.

Kneeling down he plants the tip of his sword on the ground and bows forward "I offer you my service, Theoden King." Theoden leans forward and grabbing his wrists picks him back up to his feet "And gladly, I accept it." Theoden replies with a smile.

"You shall be Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan." he says as Merry smiles, nodding his head in thanks while chuckling before he runs off.

"Horse-Men." Gimli says as he and Legolas wait on their horse to move out, while doing so watching all of the Rohirrim riding forward. Grunting in disbelief he continues "I wish I could muster a legion of Dwarves, fully armed and filthy."

"Your kinsmen may have no need to ride to war. I fear war already marches on their own lands." Legolas says.

"Damn, a battle bigger than even what happened at Helm's Deep and Salamander's gonna have a head start on all the ass kicking." Gajeel says as he rides up beside Gray as he mounts his horse.

"Guess that means I'll just have to work twice as hard as soon as we get there so I can beat both your asses in the numbers department. I'll prove to you punks once and for all who can take out more baddies in a heartbeat." Gray says before riding off with Gajeel following.

Erza helps Wendy onto her horse "You okay Wendy?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine Erza-san." Wendy replies with a nod as Erza smiles at her and mounts up behind her.

"You think Natsu-san, and Lucy-san are going to be alright until we get there?" Wendy asks.

"I'm sure they'll both be fine. And I highly doubt Natsu will let anything happen to Lucy after last time." Erza replies.

"Yeah, that's true." Wendy says.

"Speaking of which same goes for you, when the battle starts just stay close to me. And if something happens and we get separated then find either me, Gray or Gajeel." Erza says.

"Got it!" Wendy says.

Aragorn mounts his horse and begins to ride forward "Now is the hour! Riders of Rohan, oaths you have taken! Now, fulfill them all! To lord and land!" Eomer yells before urging his horse forward.

Riding out the gates of Edoras at the lead was Theoden, Eomer, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Erza and Wendy, Gray, and Gajeel with the long, long column of Rohirrim riding behind them. Even getting out a few feet distance there were still many Rohirrim riding out from Edoras still as amongst the soldiers was Merry riding his own little white pony.

 _Back at Osgiliath…_

The battle still raged on as the Gondor soldiers continued to fiercely engage the Mordor Orcs. Faramir drove his sword into another Orc as behind him Natsu raised his left arm stopping an Orc from swinging its sword and followed with a fire coated punch across the face. Spinning around Natsu delivered a fire coated kick into another Orc sending it flying into two more Orcs; looking around Natsu saw just how badly the fight was now going for the Gondor forces. Where he was able to raise their spirits before when this whole thing began, all that morale was now gone as at this point it was just a struggle to survive as Orcs swarmed all over the place. A Ranger struck down another Orc sending it tumbling down the steps, immediately though another Orc took its place and ran up engaging the Ranger who blocked its sword only to be punched across the face and slammed into the wall allowing the Orc to finish him off as it stabbed him.

The soldiers were beginning to get slaughtered by the overwhelming number of Orcs and there was nothing more Natsu could do except save whoever he could, he had attempted to fight his way towards the bridge which was what was allowing the Orcs to swarm right over so he could destroy it. However the closer he got the more Orcs he encountered until eventually he had no choice but to retreat under the threat of getting overwhelmed by their sheer number. Not to mention the Orc archers that were helping protect it from him which meant he had Orcs to deal with from every direction, it also didn't help prove a point when an arrow just barely skinned his arm when he was trying to deal with a large group of Orcs on the ground.

Turning around Natsu was greeted by a large number of Orcs charging towards him while cutting their way through the few Gondor soldiers in between him and them "Natsu! With me!" Faramir called out as Natsu turned and started running.

Even when the soldiers were retreating Orcs would randomly appear in front of them from around the corner of some ruin taking out one soldier after another. Behind, left, right, and even the front, the Orcs were all over the place and with the Gondor soldiers' numbers depleting at a rapid rate and the Orcs just continuing to rise, at this point it was a losing battle for Natsu and the soldiers of Gondor. Gondor soldiers, and Ithilien Rangers were cut down one by one, their fighting spirits, energy, and numbers quickly running low, the retreating soldiers were doing whatever they could now to just survive, running as fast as they can leaving many of their brethren behind to get slaughtered by the Orcs, even the wounded who lied dying on the ground were to be left to be finished off by the Orcs.

Sliding to a stop Natsu lit his left foot aflame as he spun around swinging it, sending an arc of fire blasting into the nearest Orcs sending them flying back as he turned around and continued running with still more Orcs in pursuit. Turning into an archway both Faramir and Natsu are greeted by Madril as he pops out and yells "Faramir!"

Seeing what was in front of him Faramir quickly pushed Natsu to the side and then threw himself to the left into a wall, as then the group of Ithilien Rangers in front of him let loose a barrage of their arrows into the group of Orcs that were chasing after the two as they all fell. "We can't hold them. The city is lost." Madril says, a cut on his head as some blood seeped out from it but didn't seem to affect him.

Faramir walks past him wondering what to do now as Natsu joined beside him "As long as that bridge of theirs is up they're just gonna keep coming. It's obvious they have the numbers at this point and its too heavily defended, even for me to get close to destroy it. If we don't get out of here all your remaining men are just going to get slaughtered." Natsu says.

Faramir looks at Natsu, seeing the serious look in his eyes as he knew what to do "Tell the men to break cover. We ride for Minas Tirith."

Another Gondor soldier was rammed into a pillar, behind another Gondor soldier attempted to engage another Orc, the Orc however was faster slamming its war hammer into his stomach stunning him and then in the head. In a small courtyard area Gondor soldiers were still trying to do what they could to fight but the number of Orcs was too much that the Orcs were literally running all over the place to find a soldier of their own to fight and kill. Just then, a familiar screech roared into the sky catching one Ranger's attention as he turned around with terror in his eyes "Nazgul." he whispers to himself.

Another screech echoes into the air and from the sky two fellbeasts, mounted by their Ringwraith masters swoop in, one Gondor soldier who is on the roof of a building ducks down narrowly avoiding the claws of one of the beasts only to be hit with its tail sending him flying off the roof into another building and to the ground. The other fellbeast uses its claws and slams them into two more Gondor soldiers on another rooftop sending them flying off it and to the ground as well.

"Take cover!"

"Nazgul!"

Faramir and Natsu run through the courtyard as Natsu looks up seeing the Nazgul "Huh?! When the hell did those guys get those things?!" Natsu yells in shock.

"Fall back! Fall back to Minas Tiri~th!" Faramir yells out.

All the soldiers were now in full retreat, running as fast as they could as the Orcs gave chase killing any soldiers unlucky enough to be caught in the back or trip and fall to the ground. Madril who was also in retreat, ducked in time upon an Orc appearing in front him, but is unable to react in time again as the Orc slams its rock topped mace into his chest. Sending him to the ground in pain as the weapon knocked the air right out of him.

"Fall back!"

The retreating soldiers were watching their backs, and now the air as three Fellbeasts now flew above, unable to get close enough to attack due to the ruins as the soldiers quickly mounted their horses and began riding off. "Here! Take me horse!" Natsu says helping an injured Gondor soldier onto his horse as the soldier thanked him and taking the rein in his right hand spurred it off, leaving Natsu on the ground as he looked back up at the Nazgul gritting his teeth in anger "Man, what a time for Happy to not be here!" he says as he starts running.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Run for your lives!"

The surviving soldiers galloped off on their horses, or like Natsu ran like crazy since there didn't seem to be enough horses or they just didn't have time to look for one.

Back in Osgiliath with the battle having of died down, Madril was still alive as he breathed for air until a group of Orcs appeared to his left. Around, the Orcs were searching for wounded survivors which didn't seem to be a whole lot other than Madril as on his left was the Orc lieutenant of the Witch-King, a Morannon orc named Gothmog, who had a deformed light-pale colored skin, and crippled arm that was held in place against the left side of his chest. The Orc looked down at the wounded Ranger as Madril looked back, suddenly Gothmog turned to his left and grabbed the spear out of one of his Orc underling's hands in his right and in a second, drove the spear into Madril. Causing the Ranger to gasp out for air, in just a few seconds however he exhaled his last breathe and died.

"The age of Men is over. The time, of the Orc, has come."

On the outskirts of Osgiliath, the men of Gondor broke out from the city and into the open plains between there and Minas Tirith...however. This now left them wide open, for the Nazgul and their Fellbeasts.

"Keep going!"

"It's the Nazgul!"

Coming at the retreating soldiers from the gate, is Gandalf as he rides with haste towards them to drive the Nazgul away as on the wall Lucy and Pippin watch this along with a large gathering of civilians and soldiers.

"It's Mithrandir."

"It's the White Rider!"

Natsu looks back as he continues running, seeing the three Fellbeasts as they begin to descend down towards the retreating soldiers with the intent to kill more. Natsu grits his teeth in anger "Why don't you bastards just leave them alone? They've lost enough!" Natsu states as he turns around while sliding to a stop. "Just because you can fly and I can't at the moment. Doesn't mean you should look down on me!" Natsu yells as he launches himself up into the air.

Faramir looks back as Pippin's eyes widen in shock with Gandalf and Lucy watching intensely.

"Who is that?"

"Isn't that the boy that came with Mithrandir?"

"He's going to get himself killed!"

The three Fellbeasts roar at Natsu as they begin closing in towards him **"Sword Horn of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells engulfing his entire body in fire as he slams himself head first into the lead Fellbeast, causing the creature to roar out in pain as it is propelled back high into the air. At the same time Natsu finds himself between the final two Fellbeasts "And finally, **Wing Attack of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells igniting streams of fire from his arms and spinning around, sending the streams blasting outwards into the remaining two Fellbeasts who also roar out in pain as then the two, followed a second later by the third, all fall towards the ground with smoke coming off their bodies and crashing.

" _Even now, he continues to amaze me…"_ Faramir says in his head in shock seeing Natsu just take out THREE Nazgul and their fellbeasts without breaking a sweat.

"Huh, guess I didn't need to come out after all." Gandalf says as he begins turning Shadowfax back.

Faramir isn't the only one, as a few of the retreating soldiers, and especially those on the walls are in utter shock as to what they have just witnessed "Amazing…" Pippin says in awe.

"That's Natsu for yah!" Lucy says with a fist pump and victorious grin on her face.

While still in the air Natsu looks down at the Ringwraith's and their creatures, and unfortunately sees all of them still alive as the Fellbeasts begin getting back up and the Nazgul re-mounting them. Though having of learned their lesson they quickly take off in the opposite direction. "Tch, bastards are hard to keep down." Natsu says before turning around and shooting some flames off his feet to propel him back towards the retreating soldiers.

The massive gates of Minas Tirith are unlocked "Pull!" a soldier shouts as the guards pull back opening the doors as the retreating soldiers along with Gandalf, and Natsu gather around in the courtyard. Lucy and Pippin run down from the wall and regroup with the two as Gandalf is about to get off his horse when "Mithrandir." the voice of Faramir calls out catching their attention.

"They broke through our defenses. They've taken the bridge and the west bank. Battalions of Orcs are crossing the river." Faramir informs Gandalf as he rides up to him.

"It is as the Lord Denethor predicted. Long has he foreseen this doom." a Gondor soldier wearing a black cape says appearing.

"Foreseen and done nothing!" Gandalf states in anger.

"If there is one good thing that came out of this however, it is that a lot of my men survived. Thanks to your young friend." Faramir says.

"To bad I couldn't have done more." Natsu angrily berates himself.

"It's alright Natsu. Even you can't take on an entire army." Lucy says trying to comfort him. As Faramir looks down at the two, he then takes notice of Pippin who looks back up at him "Faramir?" Gandalf says noticing the look in his eyes.

"This is not the first Halfling to have crossed your path." Gandalf says.

Natsu's eyes perk up suddenly as he remembers "Oh yeah that's right! This guy told me he's seen Happy!" Natsu says.

"Wait, what?!" Lucy says shocked hearing this as she looks at him.

"It is true, same for what you said as well Gandalf." Faramir says.

At this a smile of hope appears on Pippin's face "You've seen Frodo and Sam?" he asks.

Faramir nods his head "Along with your other two Exceed friends, Carla, and Lily." Faramir informs.

"So every one of them are alright! I'm sure Wendy, and Gajeel will be happy to hear that!" Lucy says as she and Natsu look at each other in joy.

"Where? When?" Gandalf quickly asks.

"In Ithilien. Not two days ago." Faramir answers as Pippin and Gandalf exchange looks of joy as well. "Gandalf, they're taking the road to the Morgul Vale." at hearing this, his happiness disappears and is replaced by one of dread "And then the pass of Cirith Ungol."

Faramir sighs as he nods his head with a serious look in his eyes as well, noticing the looks in the two's eyes, Pippin, Natsu, and Lucy can't help but become a bit worried of why they had those looks "What does that mean? What's wrong?" Pippin asks looking back up at Gandalf.

"Hey, is Happy going to be okay?" Natsu asks.

"And Carla and Lily?" Lucy asks.

But Gandalf ignores them "Faramir, tell me everything. Tell me all you know." Gandalf asks with serious concern.

* * *

 _Back near Minas Morgul…_

Higher, and higher, the group had climbed in the past few days. Down below the torches of the still marching out Orc army could still be seen "Man, how many of those Orcs are there?" Happy questions looking down.

"Considering how long it's been, and the fact they're still coming out. I feel sorry for whoever's getting invaded by that." Lily says.

"Just focus on climbing you two." Carla says.

Grabbing another step, Frodo's hand slips off and he nearly loses his grip but manages to holds strong "Careful master. Careful. Very far to fall." Gollum says as Sam looks up with worry, but the look in his eyes also says that he is extremely tired.

Gollum pulls himself up onto another platform as he looks down at the Hobbits and Exceeds, and from the height they were at, if any one of them were to fall, it would be a long and deadly one. "Very dangerous are the stairs." he says as Frodo grabs onto the edges of the platform and begins trying to pull himself up "Come master." he pleads again. That is, until the Ring slips out from under Frodo's shirt upon him launching himself onto the platform and trying to pull himself up, Gollum finds himself drawn towards it even backing up a little as the Ring begins calling out to him.

"Come to Smeagol." he quietly says as Frodo continues to struggle on getting completely on the platform. Gollum takes a step forward and begins reaching for the Ring slowly, closer and closer he got to grabbing it until "Mr. Frodo!" Sam calls out as he pulls his sword out "Get back you!" he says to Gollum who looks at him in anger and annoyance.

"What's going on up there Sam?" Carla asks him.

"Don't touch him!" Sam yells again as Gollum gets back to reaching forward, only to pull off to the side and grab Frodo's hand at the last second. Helping him up onto the platform "Why does he hates poor Smeagol? What has Smeagol ever done to him?" Gollum loudly questions as Sam, still not trusting him for a second and angered at pulling the cheap trick on him, sheathes his sword away and resumes climbing.

"Master?" Gollum says looking down at Frodo who lies on the ground still completely exhausted from all the climbing they've done so far "Master carries heavy burden. Smeagol knows. Heavy, heavy burden." he says while gently stroking his back. Sam attempts pulling himself onto the platform as the Exceeds fly around and begin helping pull him up "Fat one cannot know. Nor kitties."

Gollum walks up to Frodo's side and looks at his face "Smeagol look after master. He wants it, they all do. They needs it. Smeagol sees it in their eyes. Very soon, one of them will ask you for it. You will see. The fat one and the kitties will take it from you." Gollum whispers into Frodo's ear, his eyes widening in shock in hearing Gollum say this as he looks back at Sam and the Exceeds, to see them looking back at him as he protectively covers the Ring.

 _At Osgiliath…_

The Orcs of Mordor continue gathering in the city, as atop one of the buildings the Witch-King's fellbeast rests on it with the Witch-King himself looking towards Minas Tirith. Gothmog walks up behind him "Send forth all legions. Do not stop the attack until the city is taken. Slay them all." the Witch-King says.

"What of the wizard?" Gothmog asks.

"I will deal with the wizard." the Witch-King answers.

"And...the boy. That, Fairy Tail wizard. What of him, and any other of his companions that may be in the city?" Gothmog asks.

"Leave them to me. I will destroy every single one of them. Especially that Fire wizard. I will make him pay, for what he did to me that night. I will break him~." the Witch-King says with seething anger in his voice.

 _On Minas Tirith…_

A large group of Gondor soldiers stand on the wall looking out towards Osgiliath with fear in their eyes when Gandalf, Natsu, and Lucy appear also looking out at where the enemy was gathering. "Where are Theoden's riders?" one of the soldiers ask.

"Will Rohan's army come?" another asks.

"Mithrandir." the first soldier asks with concern.

Natsu and Lucy look at Gandalf waiting for him to get his answer, which he himself appears to be unsure of as he says "Courage is the best defense that you have now."

 _Back with the Hobbits…_

Some time has passed since the group decided to stop on the platform and get some rest. Frodo, Gollum, and the Exceeds were all passed out, except for Sam who had his eyes glued on Gollum. If he didn't trust him before, he definitely wasn't trusting him to even get some sleep with all the recent things he's caught him doing, talking about murdering them by feeding them to "her", and then when he reached for the Ring only to grab Frodo at the last second to discredit him, and when he saw how close Gollum was to Frodo when he was trying to get on the platform. Sam couldn't risk sleeping or else who knows what could happen, unfortunately however he found himself beginning to drift off, it didn't help with how exhausted he was from all the climbing he and the others had been doing, but he had to fight it off.

Unfortunately, it overtook him as he saw Gollum snoring away and thus fell asleep in an instant. A few seconds passed by as the group slept away, but that all ended as soon as Gollum's eyes shot open, the sneaky little creature having pretended he had been asleep this whole time until he felt Sam's eyes were off him. Slowly getting up just to make sure he was, once he confirmed it he shot up onto his feet and quietly opened both Sam and Happy's bags, hopping down he reached into both and pulled out the last of the remaining lembas bread. Taking a whiff of it even caused him to groan in disgust as he proceeded to break a small piece off and begin mashing it in his hand while at the same time sprinkling the crumbs onto Sam's cloak.

Turning around he took another piece off and began doing the same thing, sprinkling the crumbs onto Carla's clothing, Lily's pants, and then around Happy. His mischievous plan was now ready, getting close to the edge he then tossed the remaining bread off it as the leaf wrappings and bread fell through the air. Suddenly Sam stirred awake and noticed Gollum "What are you up to?" he questioned as Gollum wiped his hands, taken a bit back as he looked back at him in surprise.

"Sneaking off, are we?" Sam questioned as the high wind blew his hair up.

"S-Sneaking?" Gollum questioned playing dumb "Sneaking?" he questioned again as Sam sat up. "Fat Hobbit is always so polite." Gollum says as he begins climbing back up to his sleeping spot "Smeagol shows them secret ways that nobody else could find, and they say "sneak"! Sneak? Very nice friend. Oh yes, my precious. Very nice, very nice."

"All right, all right!" Sam says having heard enough of his rambling as he stands up and wraps his sword back around his waist. "You just startled me is all. What were you doing?" Sam questions looking over the edge wondering why he was.

Gollum looks back at him "S~neaking." he says.

"Fine. Have it your own way." Sam says as he walks over to Frodo and kneels down beside him putting his hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry to wake you Mr. Frodo. We have to move on." Sam says giving him a little shake just barely waking him up.

"All you three to, come on, up and at 'em." Sam says as Happy, Carla, and Lily begin to stir.

"It's dark still." Frodo says looking out at the sky.

"It's always dark here." Sam says as he pulls his bag over to him and begins going through it for the lembas bread. Pulling out a single leaf wrap, but finding no bread "It's gone!" Sam says in shock as he begins going through his bag, but finding nothing as he looks back at Frodo with worry in his eyes "The Elven bread."

"What?" Frodo says pushing himself up "That's all we have left." Frodo says.

"But that's impossible, we had two more loaves left." Lily says.

"Don't worry guys, remember I still have three loaves left in my bag." Happy says reassuring them as he begins walking over to it.

Carla crosses her arms "Hm~. True, but still where was the bread Sam had. You couldn't have dropped it you're not that careless." Carla says.

"EH~?!" Happy cries out in shock catching everyone's attention. "The bread I had! It's all gone as well!" Happy yells as he digs through his bag to find no sign of his bread at all.

"What?!" Carla says now in complete shock.

"That's can't be!" Lily states at the same time.

"How can we just lose five loaves of bread in a few hours?!" Carla says.

"They couldn't have fallen out, if they did from Sam's we would've seen it!" Happy says.

"And we were behind you so if yours fell out the same thing would've happen." Lily says.

Sam is at a complete loss of words, when it dawns upon him on who could've done it as he turns to Gollum who is scratching his head with a confused look in his eyes "He took it. He must have!" he states.

"Smeagol? No, no, not poor Smeagol. Smeagol hates nasty Elf bread." Gollum says as Frodo and the Exceeds look up at him.

"You're a lying rat! What did you do with it?!" Sam begins yelling in anger.

"He doesn't eat it." Frodo says realizing what he said was true as he shoots up onto his feet "He can't have taken it."

"But none of us took it!" Happy says.

Carla sprouts her wings and flies up to Gollum's level eyeing him with anger and suspicion as he looks back at her "Unfortunately Frodo's right, he doesn't eat it he already told us how it tastes nasty to him. However! That's not saying maybe he did something else with it so start talking Gollum where's the bread!" Carla questions.

Suddenly Gollum gasps "Look. What's this?" he says. Suddenly wiping away at Carla's clothing as then bread crumbs begin falling from it to the ground, Carla gasps in shock seeing this as does Happy and Lily, the latter who grunts as Sam's eyes also widen in shock. Gollum looks back at Sam "And look here too." he says as he brushes some bread crumbs off Sam's shoulder, who becomes shocked at this.

Gollum looks down at Happy and Lily eyeing them "And on his pantses." Gollum says pointing at Lily who looks at his pants, and sees bread crumbs on them as well as his eyes widen in shock "What the?" he says.

"And look where he stands!" Gollum says now pointing at Happy's feet as he looks down and sees crumbs around him. "Crumbs. Crumbs on and around them! They took it!" Gollum says pointing his fingers at all of them, Frodo looks at all of them as they all look at Frodo in disbelief.

"They took it!" Gollum hops down and looks up at Frodo "I seen him. He's always stuffing his face when master's not looking. In fact, even the kitties got in on it as well recently."

"That's a filthy lie!" Sam yells as he slugs Gollum across the face sending him onto his back "You stinking two-faced freak!" he continues yelling as he gets on top of him and begins punching away at his face.

"Sam!" Frodo yells.

"That's it, I know he did it and I've had enough! Lily!" Carla says.

Lily shifts into his Battle Mode and takes out his sword "No!" Frodo yells putting his hands up and getting between the Exceeds, and Sam and Gollum before then turning around "Call me-"

"Stop it! Sam!" Frodo yells as he grabs him and pulls him off Gollum.

"Kill him! We have to kill him!" Sam yells madly now "Sam no!" Frodo yells, as suddenly he drops down.

"Oh my - I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to go so far. I was just so - So angry. We all were." Sam says quickly kneeling down beside him on the verge of tears "Here, just - Let's just rest a bit." Sam suggests as the Exceed stand off to the side now unsure of what to do as they fear for Frodo's health.

"I'm alright." Frodo says.

"No. No, you're not alright you're exhausted. It's that Gollum. It's this place. It's that thing around your neck." Sam states, suddenly Frodo's eyes open up as he looks suspiciously at Sam.

"He's right, all of it. All of this is driving us mad at this point." Carla says as she catches her breath while Lily shifts back to normal.

"Especially that Ring, it has to be definitely causing a lot of burden on you at this rate." Lily says as Frodo turns his head and looks at the Exceeds.

"Especially considering how close we're getting. Its power might be growing more." Happy says looking around the place.

"Maybe, I could help a bit. I could carry it for a while." suddenly in Frodo's eyes, those words that Sam said, begin to replay over and over again _"Carry it for a while. I could carry it...I could carry it. Share the load...Share the load...the load...the load…"_

Frodo's eyes widen in shock "Get away!" he cries out with hate and anger in his eyes as he shoves Sam away making him fall back into the wall with shock in his eyes, especially the Exceeds who all gasp at seeing Frodo **push** Sam away from him with so much anger. "I don't want to keep it." Sam says.

Frodo gets back up to his feet "I just want to help."

"Frodo what are you doing?!" Carla questions as Frodo looks back at them.

"You've never pushed Sam before. What's gotten into you?" Lily questions.

"He's your best friend! He's only trying to help!" Happy says.

"It has to be that Ring, it's driving you mad just like Sam said before! Let him, or at least one of us carry it for you, before it does any more harm to your mind!" Carla pleads.

"No! Stay back! All of you!" Frodo yells looking back and forth between Sam and the Exceeds.

Meanwhile, with a sinister look in his eyes Gollum creeps up by Frodo's feet "See? See? They wants it for themselves." he says as he looks up at Frodo.

"Shut up you!" Sam yells as he gets back on his feet "Go away! Get out of here!"

"And it's not just the Ring, but it's him as well! He's trying to turn you against us Frodo don't listen to him!" Happy says as Carla and Lily stare with anger towards Gollum.

"No Sam...Happy. It's you." At this Sam looks back at Frodo with hurt in his eyes, as does Happy as Carla and Lily look up at him in disbelief. "All of you...I'm sorry, Sam." Frodo continues as he then looks over at the Exceeds "Happy, Carla, Lily." unknown to the group a victorious grin appears on Gollum's face.

"But he's a liar. He's poisoned you against us." Sam says.

"Frodo, are you really going to do this? After everything we've been through. After everything **Sam** , has been through with you, even before this whole journey began… Are you really going to trust **him**?!" Carla questions in complete shock at how this was going.

But Frodo seems to ignore this "None of you can help me anymore." Frodo says.

Tears begin streaming down Sam, and Happy's faces while Carla finds even herself on the verge of tears while Lily manages to keep it together but is also in a state of disbelief and sadness. "You don't mean that." Sam says.

"...Go home…" Frodo says.

And that was the final strike, at this Sam collapses back down to the ground against the wall and begins crying with his eyes closed, his feelings completely hurt and shattered by the words of his best friend. Frodo doesn't even seem to care that his best friend is now crying as he turns and looks at the Exceeds "And you three...find your friends. And go back home, however way you can find." Frodo says as he begins to walk off.

Happy collapses to his knees and begins crying as well, Carla walks over and kneeling down beside him wraps her arms around his head to hold him as tears begin falling down her face too, Lily meanwhile looks off at Frodo, and then Gollum as they resume climbing. A look of anger in his eyes.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

Back in his and Lucy's room Natsu scarfed down on a leg of meat "Meh, seriously can any of the food in this world be at least close to Mira's cooking?" Natsu questions himself while chewing as he swallows the food down.

When the door suddenly slams open and Lucy appears out of breathe, immediately catching Natsu's attention "Lucy!" he says as he runs over to her "What's wrong?"

"It...It's Faramir!" Lucy says.

Natsu's eyes widen in shock.

As it turned out, Denethor was none too pleased that Faramir had given up and pulled out of Osgiliath, saying how if Boromir was here then he would've held it to the last man. And he was even more angered, when he found out about Frodo and the Ring having of even been **in** Osgiliath, and then let go instead of brought back to him! Eventually, Denethor ordered Faramir to find a Captain to lead a company of men back to Osgiliath to retake it from the Orcs, and in order to please his father, Faramir chose to lead himself. Even if he knew, that what he was about to do was suicide and guaranteed a one-hundred percent chance of dying.

"Seriously?!" Natsu questions as he and Lucy run through the city, trying to get to the gate to stop Faramir.

"That's what Pippin told me and Gandalf. Gandalf's already gone ahead to try and stop him but...if what Pippin told us was true, the look in Faramir's eyes. I think he's going to go through with this, no matter what. Even if it is a suicide, if it's to please his father just a little bit..." Lucy says.

"That damn bastard!" Natsu says in absolute anger.

 _Near the Gate…_

A column of Gondor soldiers slowly rode down the street towards the gate, all of them with solemn looks on their faces knowing all too well what lied ahead of them. Off on the sides and above on the buildings and other walkways, fellow soldiers and civilians alike, gathered together and quietly watched these men heading off to what was surely their death. Faramir was among them fully decked out in armor, he looked at all the people and saw that none of them had looks of hope in their eyes, even they could see how futile of a mission this was, something that unfortunately his father could not. But, if doing this suicide mission, even at the cost of his life made his father even a little bit happy, and proud for him, then he was willing to do it.

Family, and loved ones, many of them tossed small flowers onto the street in a show of love for the men, some even giving it straight to certain soldier's themselves, most likely the wives of those men that they would never see again.

"Faramir! Faramir!" Gandalf called off from the side as he made his way through the crowd and to Faramir's side who just continued going forward. "Your father's will has turned to madness. Do not throw away your life so rashly."

"Where does my allegiance lie if not here? This is the city of the Men of Numenor… I will gladly give my life to defend her beauty. Her memory, her wisdom." Faramir says as Gandalf comes to a stop with a look of sadness in his eyes.

"Your father loves you, Faramir. He will remember it before the end." Gandalf says.

"Faramir!" another familiar voice breaks through the air.

"Faramir! Move it!" Natsu yells as he begins pushing his way through the crowd with Lucy right behind him. Natsu runs past Gandalf but Gandalf holds his staff out stopping Lucy who is caught off by this as she comes to a stop and looks at Natsu.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Natsu angrily questions as he walks beside Faramir looking up at him.

"I have already told Gandalf, Natsu. I am doing my duty and protecting this city. Even if doing so costs me my life." Faramir says.

Suddenly Natsu stomps his way right in front of Faramir and plants his feet down firmly "DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" Natsu yells at the top of his lungs, completely surprising everyone, even Faramir as all the soldiers stop in their tracks and everyone looks at him. Gandalf and Lucy look on, Lucy knowing all too what that top of the lungs yell from Natsu was. And when that came, he really had something to say.

"You know damn well that's not the true reason you're doing this! You're doing this so you can please your father so he can finally have something good to say about you." Natsu begins as Faramir looks down at him with disbelief, having never seen or heard of anyone like Natsu who would straight up get in his way to try and stop the orders of his father, the steward. "Well let me tell you something, I say screw what your father wants and just do what your heart tells you to! It was because of what your heart said that all those men made it back in the first place! If you had followed what your father said, you and every single one of them would've been slaughtered and it wouldn't have made a damn difference! Just like now, you really think with all those Orcs over there you're gonna just retake the entire city so easily? They're probably gonna shoot you down before you can get anywhere near there!" Everyone was in silence as to what was being witnessed.

"If you really want to follow your duty, to protect this city and everyone in it. Then you can do that damn duty of yours from here! Here, you at least have a fighting chance! Out there, you're wasting your life, and lives of all these men, for nothing! Don't do this. Its complete bullshit, and you know it." Natsu finishes.

Faramir looks down at Natsu, and Natsu looks up at him out of breath, until finally, Faramir speaks "I'm sorry Natsu." and that's it. Natsu's eyes widen in shock and his mouth drops open. As Faramir steers his horse around Natsu, and the soldiers resume their march. Natsu watches as Faramir and his men continue towards the gate which is then opened for them, Gandalf, and Lucy walk up behind him as Natsu lowers his head and grits his teeth "What are you waiting for? Aren't you gonna hit me or something with your staff for yelling and doing something stupid?" Natsu asks.

Gandalf looks forward "Usually, I would...But not this time." Gandalf says as Natsu still keeps his head lowered "Not when what you said, was the absolute truth."

On the fields of Pelennor, the company of Gondor soldiers and a few Ithilien Rangers, lined up in two long rows as they slowly made their way towards Osgiliath. Civilians and Gondor soldiers watched from the walls, even Natsu and Lucy appeared to watch what happened, even though they knew how it was going to end. The riders began picking up their pace towards Osgiliath, as just then the first Orc appeared amongst the ruins of the city looking out at the incoming soldiers. Somewhere in the ruins Gothmog and many of his Orcs also saw this as well as a gleeful smile appeared on his face, and then from behind more of the ruins, Orc archers began slowly appearing. Faramir saw this, but did not let it waver him.

 _In the Throne Room…_

Denethor eats away without a care in the world at a long black table, a few plates of meat and other foods and drinks set before him as off to his side Pippin stood with a blank face in his new Guard of the Citadel clothing. "Can you sing Master Hobbit?" Denethor asks.

Pippin looks at him but then looks down "Well...yes." he replies with uncertainty. Denethor looks over "At least, well enough for my own people. But we have no songs for great halls and...evil times." Pippin says staring at Denethor with a bit of sour, not liking how calm he was even though he knew what was currently going on at the moment.

"And why should your songs be unfit for my halls?" Denethor asks looking back at him "Come, sing me a song." he says getting back to eating.

Pippin looks back up, continuing to listen as Denethor tears away at his food until eventually, he finds something to sing.

" _Home is behind_

 _The wor~ld ahead_

The horses are now in a full gallop, the neighs of the horses appear to echo slowly out into the world. More Orc archers appear from behind every rock, doorway, and window from Osgiliath.

 _And there are many paths to tread_

What easily looks like hundreds, maybe even thousands of archers stand ready staring right towards the charging soldiers of Gondor. Denethor continues to eat.

 _Through Shadow_

Faramir unsheathes his sword with a battle ready look in his eyes as he extends it forward and appears to yell for a charge, but no sound is heard other than the impacts of the horse's hooves hitting the ground.

 _To the e~dge of nigh~t_

The riders are now a bit more spread out but not by much, and it could easily be seen how their numbers were in comparison to just the archers of the Orc horde that awaited them at Osgiliath.

 _Until the stars are all alight_

The orc archers raise their bows and arrows, Denethor breaks a bone off his meat, the Gondor soldiers get closer and continue charging forward.

 _Mist and shadow_

 _Clo~ud and shade_

The orcs aim and pull back on their bows.

 _All shall fade_

Faramir continues to look forward, Natsu and Lucy watch this as Lucy is on the verge of tears, and Natsu stares with anger.

 _All~ sha~ll_

Gothmog gives the order, again no voice his heard, except for when the arrows, the thousands of Orc arrows are released are their sounds heard.

 _Fade._

Pippin finishes, looking over at Denethor who continues just eating, stopping for a split second, but then resuming immediately. Pippin gets this bad feeling in his heart, and he can already tell just what that bad feeling is as he closes his eyes and looks away.

Somewhere in the city, Gandalf solemnly sits by himself, not a single person around as he just sits, and sits.

On the wall Lucy closes her eyes and looks away. Natsu clenches his hands into fists, the veins on them could be seen as Lucy then notices behind her closed eyes a glowing light going through. Opening her eyes, she quietly gasps in shock and her eyes widen, the soldiers and civilians around were also in a state of fear at what they were seeing. Flame. Fire was emitting off of Natsu's body as the look in his eyes could kill.

"Natsu…" Lucy says.

Without saying a word Natsu turned and stormed off as his flames died down.

Back in the throne room Denethor continued eating peacefully, Pippin stood still looking down at the ground when suddenly the door opened drawing his and Denethor's attention forward. Natsu walked in and began making his way towards Denethor "Natsu?" Pippin says confused on why he was there.

"Pippin, leave." Natsu states.

Pippin then noticed it, the glare of hatred in his eyes, his tightened up fists where the veins could be seen, without needing another word said he quickly began making his way towards the door leaving Denethor slightly confused at first until he simply threw it aside and resumed eating. "So, what brings you here mage?" Denethor questioned without even looking at Natsu.

"Are you serious? After everything that just happened and you're here stuffing your damn face?" Natsu questions as he looks down with shadows covering the upper half of his face.

"It is my lunch hour, I see why not. Tell me, has Faramir and his men departed yet for Osgiliath?" Denethor asks.

Suddenly in an instant, Natsu slams his right fist down onto the table breaking it in half down the middle sending Denethor's food and drinks flying into the air as the Steward angrily pushes himself up "What is the meaning of this?!" he angrily questions.

Natsu raises his head and Denethor could swear that he saw his right eye glowing red as the rest of his upper face was still covered in shadow. The sight alone made Denethor widen his eyes and actually begin backing up as Natsu turned and began walking slowly towards him. "You...have some nerve." Natsu begins.

"Guards!" Denethor yelled.

The two guards at the door turned as the door opened up and four more came rushing in, Natsu turned his head and glared at the guards who upon seeing the look in his eyes immediately stopped in their tracks out of complete fear. Natsu turned back towards Denethor who then tripped over the ground platform falling back against the wall of the second higher platform leading up to the throne chair. "You criticize Faramir for making the right decision that saved his and all those other soldiers' lives, then you send him and all those other men on a suicide mission to retake something that's already lost. And **you** have the balls to just eat away while they waste their lives on your ridiculous orders?!" Natsu angrily questions.

"If Faramir had done his job then he wouldn't have needed to retake it! He should've held Osgiliath just like his brother Boromir would've done to the last man!" Denethor retorts trying to defend himself through clenched teeth.

"And what would have happened if Boromir was the one that made that decision? Would you have criticized him too, or would you have congratulated him for making the right choice?!" Natsu questions.

"How **dare** you question my authority?! Do you not know who I-" before Denethor can even finish his sentence a flaming fist slams itself into the wall next to Denethor's head making his eyes widen in complete shock and him immediately shut up.

" **Do you see me giving a DAMN about who you are?!"** Natsu states.

Denethor now founds himself at a complete loss for words, never before seeing anyone, and he means **anyone** challenge him like this, without a care in the world for who he was! "You know what I see? A pathetic, weak old man who doesn't deserve the love of his children. For the short amount of time I knew Boromir, there was not one bit of him that could ever closely resemble you. He was a good man, way better then what you will ever be. And the same goes for his brother. I can see how those two are related because they are both good men, with strong hearts who would do anything to protect the lives of their people and lead their men into battle, but at the same time not waste lives away like they were nothing! And the fact that even after Boromir dies that you don't show even the smallest hint of care in the world for Faramir is even more fucked up. What kind of father favors one child over the other?! If they're both your sons then they deserve to both be loved and cared for equally!"

Denethor wanted to say something, he did, but all that courage of his, was completely gone at this point as sweat of fear ran down his face "You're the worst kind of ruler any kingdom could ask for. One that cares only about power, and not the slightest hint of care for the people who inhabit it, or the soldiers who put their lives on the line defending it. When things don't go your way, you throw a damn tantrum like a little kid until he gets what he wants. You said before that no one would be able to take the rule of Gondor away from you. Well let me tell you something right now, I know someone who will gladly do it in a damn heartbeat, as much as I want to, it won't be me, it won't be Gandalf, or Aragorn. No, don't know if this word exists or not in this world, but it's a little something called karma. 'Cause let me tell you, karma can be a real bitch sometimes." Natsu finishes.

Denethor's breathing becomes hitched as then finally Natsu pulls his fist back, revealing the cracks, and dent made in the wall just a few inches by his head as Natsu turns and starts walking away.

 _Meanwhile…_

 _At Dunharrow…_

The rest of Team Natsu, along with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden and his Rohirrim from Edoras arrive at the gathering point where already thousands of other Rohirrim from across Rohan have already gathered and set up a massive campsite.

"Make way for the king."

"Make way."

The group rides through the camp as the Rohirrim already there go about doing a variety of things while many more continue to arrive.

"The king is here."

"My lord."

Of course with Theoden being who he was drew many of the soldiers' attention as they all stared at him, Theoden throwing his hand up to greet them as he rode by every now and then.

"Hail to you sire."

"Grimbold, how many?" Theoden asks one of his men.

"I bring five hundred men from the Westfold my lord." the soldier replies off from the side.

"We have three hundred more from Fenmarch, Theoden King." another Rohirrim informs.

Theoden looks around "Where are the riders from Snowbourn?" he asks.

"None have come my lord." another soldier answers.

The group continue riding forward, as before them was the mountain at which the massive campsite sat at the foot of, there was however a zig-zagging pathway going up the side of it leading to another small campsite near the top.

Sometime after arriving at the top campsite, Aragorn walks as he looks at all the soldiers around him going about a variety of different tasks, as he then spots Theoden near the edge of the cliff and approaches. Walking to his side he looks down to see the massive campsite of the rest of the Rohirrim down below where thousands of soldiers and horses could be seen going all over the place and with more soldiers arriving.

"Six thousand spears. Less than half of what I'd hoped for." Theoden says as Aragorn shakes his head at the sight knowing all too well that while the number was high, it wasn't enough.

"Six thousand will not be enough to break the lines of Mordor." Aragorn says.

Theoden looks at him "More will come." he says as he turns to leave when Aragorn speaks up "Every hour hastens Gondor's defeat. We have till dawn, then we must ride."

Theoden doesn't say anything but nods his head in agreement. Just then the terrified neighing of a horse catches both their attention as they turn to see a few of the horses acting, rather strangely as they seem to be in a state of fear. They were becoming a bit hard for some soldiers to control, and those that were already in their pens were staggering around like they didn't want to be there. Legolas, Gimli, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Wendy noticed this unrest in the horses, Legolas however noticed something else as well "The horses are restless...and the men are quiet."

Eomer appears "They grow nervous in the shadow of the mountain." he explains, looking to his right as the others follow his gaze, and notice a very narrow road in between two cliffs that seems to lead into the mountain. "That road there...where does that lead?" Gimli asks.

"It is the road to the Dimholt, the door under the mountain." Legolas says.

"Yeah, well what's with this creepy vibe I'm getting from it?" Gray questions eyeing it suspiciously.

"None who venture there ever return." Eomer says as he looks back at them "That mountain is evil." he finishes before walking off.

"So~, guess we should avoid going in there or something?" Gajeel questions.

"Just looking at that road. I can sense a very dark, dangerous, and evil presence deep inside there. And it's making me a bit scared." Wendy says with some fear in her voice.

Erza puts a reassuring hand on Wendy's shoulder "Don't worry Wendy. Everything will be okay. It's just like Gajeel said, let's just avoid it."

Aragorn walks up to a rock pillar and finds himself suddenly drawn to looking at the road, as he continues to look at it like something had him in a trance, he could swear that he was beginning to see a green, ghostly figure who was staring right back at him. As he continued looking "Aragorn." Gimli calls from beside him knocking Aragorn out of his trance as he turned around startled.

"Let's find some food." he says.

Aragorn looked back at the road, the ghostly figure was gone. He did not know what to think of it, and so decided to turn and follow after Gimli to hopefully forget about it.

* * *

 _Nighttime…_

At this point it all but seemed that all the Rohirrim that could be mustered had arrived as everything began to die down. Inside one of the tents at the top Eowyn adjusted a helmet onto Merry "There." she says as she stands back up and looks down at him "A true esquire of Rohan."

Feeling the helmet on his head, Merry had a joyous grin on his face as he reached for his sword and pulled it out "I'm ready." he says, albeit he pulls his sword out too quickly that at the close proximity Eowyn is too him frightens her a little as she takes a step back and holds her hands out to calm him. Of course she laughed it off finding his eagerness to be funny.

"Sorry." Merry apologizes as he looks at his sword "It isn't all that dangerous. It's not even sharp." he says in disappointment.

"Well that's no good. You won't kill many Orcs with a blunt blade. Come on." Eowyn says turning him around and ushering him out the tent.

Exiting the tent Merry takes a few quick swings and a twirl of the blade getting used to it as he jabs it forward "To the smithy. Go!" Eowyn humorously says pushing him forward as he quickly begins jogging off. Eomer and Gamling who are outside the tent and see this however, are not as supportive of it "You should not encourage him." Eomer says catching his sister's attention.

"You should not doubt him."

"I do not doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm." Eomer says making Gamling chuckle quietly under his breath as the two eat some bread.

"Why should Merry be left behind? He has as much cause to go to war as you." Eowyn questions as Eomer continues chewing on his food, Eowyn looks off in the direction Merry went in "Why can he not fight for those he loves?" Eowyn begins to head back into the tent.

When Eomer speaks up standing as he does so and turning to her "You know as little of war as that Hobbit." Eowyn turns around as he begins walking to her "When the fear takes him...and the blood and the screams and the horror of battle take hold...do you think he would stand and fight?" Eomer asks stopping in front of her.

"He would flee. And he would be right to do so." Eowyn continues to listen with a slightly angered look on her face as Eomer puts a hand on her shoulder "War is the province of Men, Eowyn." Eomer finishes as he turns to walk away.

"And what about Erza? And Wendy who is but a child not even that far over ten years of age?" Eowyn questions him making him stop. "What of them? You saw, and heard firsthand how Erza could easily have equaled more than half of those Uruk-hai at Helm's Deep alone. With Wendy possessing the same magic as that of Natsu, and Gajeel, and how they easily destroyed large groups of Uruk-hai, meaning that she would too if she had been at that battle. What do you have to say about them?" Eowyn asks.

Eomer stays quiet for a few seconds, before looking over his shoulder "They, are a special case. They're from another world, a world where apparently even the youngest of children can gain magic that allows them to fight. And with training in time they would obviously have mastered their ability allowing them to go above and beyond even many of Rohan's greatest warriors without a problem. Even that girl Wendy, as much as she doesn't belong in the field of battle for one of her age, if she's with these people, has seen combat, and knows how to fight. Then there is nothing I can do to stop her." Eomer says.

Off on the cliff, a Rohirrim stands on sentry duty with his spear held up. As he looks down he spots a lone rider on a white horse coming up that path, the rider however wears a cloak making it hard to tell who it was.

In his tent Aragorn sleeps, but seems to be having a nightmare of sort as he tosses around in his cot, as in his nightmare he sees...Arwen. But the way she looked, it was almost as if she was...dying. Arwen opened her eyes and looked up, suddenly in a flash of light he sees a stone doorway that leads into a cave.

" _I choose a mortal life."_

He sees her looking up with a saddened look in her eyes as a single tear goes down the side of her face _"I wish I could've seen him...one last time."_

Suddenly he sees the Evenstar that Arwen gave to him, fall from his hand and smash to pieces on a marble floor.

Aragorn shoots awake and draws his dagger in rage "Sir?" a Rohirrim at the entrance to his tent calls out catching his attention. "King Theoden awaits you, my lord." he says exiting the tent.

Exiting his tent not that long after, Aragorn walks across the camp and towards Theoden's tent, the Rohirrim from before opening the flap as he walks inside to see Theoden talking to a cloaked figure who sits on a chair. Theoden turns seeing Aragorn as Aragorn comes to a stop wondering what was going on "I take my leave." Theoden says as he begins to walk out, stopping in front of Aragorn for a few seconds with an intense stare in his eyes before continuing on out.

Aragorn looks at the cloaked figure who stands up and turns to him, taking the hood off to reveal Elrond. Aragorn is caught off guard but remains composed as he bows forward a little "My lord Elrond." he greets.

"I come on behalf of one whom I love." he says with a serious look in his eyes, this catching Aragorn's attention as he looks back up "Arwen is dying."

Aragorn is completely taken off guard by this as he stares in shock "She will not long survive the evil that now spreads from Mordor. The light of the Evenstar is falling." Elrond continues as around Aragorn's neck is the Evenstar. "As Sauron's power grows, her strength wanes. Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the Ring. The shadow is upon us, Aragorn. The end has come."

"It will not be our end, but his." Aragorn says.

"You ride to war, but not to victory." Elrond says making Aragorn stare at him confused by what he speaks off.

Elrond takes a few steps forward "Sauron's armies march on Minas Tirith this you know. But, in secret he sends another force which will attack from the river. A fleet of Corsair ships sails from the south. They'll be in the city in two days. You're outnumbered, Aragorn… You need more men." he says.

Aragorn shakes his head "There are none."

Elrond remains silent for a few moments "There are those who dwell in the mountain."

Suddenly what can only be described as a ghostly moan seems to be heard in Aragorn's mind as the wind picks up, and in his eyes he sees the face of the ghostly figure from before. The wind and moan dies away at the same time. His eyes are widened in shock 'Murderers...traitors…You would call upon them to fight? They believe in nothing. They answer to no one." Aragorn says.

"They will answer to the king of Gondor." Elrond says, before suddenly pulling out from his cloak an elaborate looking sheath with a sword inside, Aragorn seems to recognize what is inside as he notices the hilt of the blade. "Anduril, the Flame of the West, forged from the shards of Narsil." Elrond explains taking a few steps towards Aragorn and presenting it to him.

Aragorn seems to hesitate at first, but then raises his hands and wraps them around it "Sauron will not have forgotten the Sword of Elendil." he says as he spins it to his right. Slowly reaching for and grabbing it as he then pulls the sword out, revealing the long, elegant, and sharp looking blade where some runes could be seen inscribed onto it.

"The blade that was broken shall return to Minas Tirith." he says looking upon the sword.

"The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth." Elrond says as Aragorn looks at him "Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt road."

Aragorn sighs unsure of what to do, since he was still wondering on if he should really go back to **that** path _"I give hope to Men."_ Elrond says in the Elvish tongue.

" _...I keep none for myself."_ Aragorn replies, after taking in a few more deep breaths, he makes his decision and sheaths the sword away.

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **Mr. 1000 -** Hm, don't know. Haven't really thought of it yet. Would need to think about that if I ever plan on doing a crossover whether it's the Turtles going in to the Fairy Tail world, or Team Natsu into the Turtles world.

To **FlameDragonHime -** I never heard of anything like that. Can you send a link or something cause the only thing I heard was that once he was done, he was done. He wasn't going to do anything like Naruto and Boruto. If he did mention it somewhere though, damn, that'd be cool I guess.

To **aleyuma98 -** Maybe. Right now I'm not in a Mass Effect crossover mood except for Heroes UNITE!, but I may do it eventually. My plan is, is that once I finish this I might do one more Lord of the Rings crossover and that'll be with Kamen Rider, and after that I might take a break from any Lord of the Rings crossover stories for a while and do some other stuff for a Short Story Crossover.


	17. The Great Battle Begins

Aragorn fastened the saddle on his horse as he prepared to head off into the mountain to find this "army" that Elrond spoke of. Just then Eowyn appeared from around the corner in a hurry and spotted him, somehow she knew that he was leaving and so quickly walked over to find out why "Why are you doing this? The war lies to the east. You cannot leave on the eve of battle." she says.

Aragorn looks at her "You cannot abandon the men."

"Eowyn…" Aragorn says as he walks around her.

"We need you here." she continues.

"Why have you come?" Aragorn asks.

"Do you not know?" she asks with some hesitation at first.

Aragorn stops what he's doing and slowly looks at her "It is but a shadow and a thought that you love." he says, Eowyn looks at him with pain and shock in her eyes. "I cannot give you what you seek." he finishes.

Eowyn slowly begins backing up from him stopping just a few feet away, Aragorn lets out a sigh, not liking what he was doing but knowing that he had to break it to her of how he felt as he walks up to her "I have wished you joy since first I saw you." Aragorn says. He puts a hand on her face, but retracts it almost immediately as he does feel really sorry for her, but his heart was already with someone else after all. Turning Aragorn grabs his horse and begins walking away, leaving Eowyn in a heartbroken state as tears form in her eyes.

Aragorn leads his horse through the camp, keeping an eye out for his friends since he knew this was something he had to do on his own, when "Just where do you think you're off to?" Gimli questions sitting next to a tent off to Aragorn's right.

Aragorn stops and looks at him "Not this time." he says shaking his head "This time you must stay Gimli."

Just then the sound of another horse coming up from behind makes him turn around to see Legolas with his and Gimli's horse in tow "Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves?" Legolas humorously questions.

"Or the stubbornness of Fairy Tail mages." turning back around Aragorn is greeted by Erza, and Gray with both of their horses, and Gajeel and Wendy, with Gajeel not having his.

"You might as well accept it. We're going with you laddie." Gimli says.

"Well you guys are anyway, sucks too but I think I'd rather head to the fight immediately then go after some stupid ghost army or whatever it is you're doing." Gajeel says.

"To make sure the Rohirrim still have some backup, me and Gajeel-san will stay behind and ride out with them." Wendy says.

"After all, the minute these guys see us leaving they're not gonna like it one bit." Gray says.

And like that, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Erza, and Gray, mounted and slowly rode their horses through the camp towards the Dimholt road, needless to say however, their actions definitely caught a lot of the still awake Rohirrims' attention who all looked on in shock at what they were seeing.

"What's happening?"

"Where's he going?"

"Where's he going?"

"I don't understand."

Gamling walked out and watched in shock as Aragorn and the others, one by one disappeared into the pitch black darkness of the Dimholt road as he shouted "Lord Aragorn!" but to no avail.

"Why does he leave on the eve of battle?"

Gamling turns around as the Rohirrim in shock began gathering around him "He leaves because there is no hope." he says.

"He leaves because he must." Theoden speaks up appearing.

"Too few have come. We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor." Gamling says.

Theoden shakes his head "No...we cannot...But we will meet them in battle nonetheless." Theoden says.

"Besides." Gajeel appears catching their attention "Not like you lost all of us, you still have the powers of two Dragon Slayers with you." Gajeel says with his arms crossed and a toothy smirk.

The Rohirrim however appear to remain unfazed even by this, Wendy steps forward "Erza-san and the others would never abandon you. They'll be back when we need them the most and when they do, they'll have help." she says.

 _Morning…_

 _Deep in the Mountain…_

It had been a few hours now since the group set off to find this army that Elrond mentioned; deeper, and deeper into the mountain they went with nothing but the gray dirt Dimholt road in front of them, a few bushes off on the sides, and the high, pointy rocks of the mountain all around them. The silence, the bit of fog that randomly rolled through out of nowhere, it did increase the eerie factor of the area and make it live up to what Eomer had said about it, if it indeed was cursed. Needless to say, it did beg the question "What kind of army would linger in such a place?" Gimli said.

"One that doesn't like visitors?" Gray says.

"One that is cursed." Legolas corrects. "Long ago, the Men of the Mountains swore an oath, to the last king of Gondor...to come to his aid, to fight." the horses were getting a bit restless but it wasn't that bad luckily, looking around even Erza found a chilling tingle go down the back of her spine. "But when the time came...when Gondor's need was dire...they fled. Vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them...never to rest, until they had fulfilled their pledge. Who shall call them from the grey twilight? The forgotten people. The heir of him to whom the oath they swore. From the north shall they come. Need shall drive them. He shall pass the door to the Paths of the Dead."

Going up a very narrow dirt road, the group come across what looks like the entrance to a cave up ahead with a few dead, and creepy looking trees surrounding it. Dismounting the group led their horses up towards it while looking around a bit wary "Right, nothing says creepy like a whole bunch of dead trees." Gray says.

"The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away." Gimli says quietly.

"You know what else says nothing but creepy? A man-made door with human skulls placed on either side of the entrance." Erza says as sure enough, the entrance to the cave did appear man-made. Piles of human skulls on either side, and carvings around the doorway of figures, animals, and even what looked like the Eye of Sauron.

"The way is shut...It was made by those who are dead. And the dead keep it...The way is shut." Legolas says looking at the carvings.

All of a sudden a loud, very, very loud ghostly-like moan seems to blow out from the deep, dark cave along with some wind making the group tense up a little bit. And worse making the horses completely lose control of themselves as they break free from Aragorn and the others' grasp and quickly run off "Brego!" Aragorn yells but to no avail.

Gimli and Legolas back up a little, Gimli with a look of terror in his eyes as even Erza and Gray find themselves a bit frightened by this. "Okay, I'm an Ice Wizard. And even whatever the hell that was, made my skin crawl and hairs stand up." Gray says.

"What the hell kind of army are we exactly dealing with?" Erza questions with widened eyes.

Aragorn however turns around and looks straight into the dark cave with an unwavering look of anger and determination in his eyes "I do not fear death." he says. And is the first to step towards and walk into the cave as the ghostly moan continues to echo out from it.

Erza looks on in shock, but then seems to regather her courage "After everything I experienced as a child. Nothing can frighten me anymore." Erza says as she is next to follow in after Aragorn.

Legolas and Gray look at each other and then look back at the door "Ah~, what the hell. If I chicken out now and Natsu were to hear about it from Erza, I'd never hear the end of it." Gray says as he and Legolas walk in next, leaving Gimli outside alone.

"Well this is a thing unheard of...An Elf will go underground, where a Dwarf dare not?! Oh~. Oh, I'd never hear the end of it as well." Gimli says as he reluctantly jogs in after the others.

 _Back at Dunharrow…_

It was now time to ride out! With the sun reaching over the mountains, the Rohirrim quickly got about putting out the fires, gearing up, and mounting their horses to ride off to battle. Theoden exits his tent with Eomer following "We must ride light and swift. It is a long road ahead. And man and beast must reach the end with the strength to fight." Theoden says.

Mounting his horse he begins to head out with Eomer and a few other Rohirrim following behind him while many others continue to get ready, when something catches his attention making him stop. Merry is seen fully geared up and ready for battle as he got his horse ready, when he turns and notices Theoden "Little Hobbits do not belong in war, Master Meriadoc." he says.

"All my friends have gone to battle. I would be ashamed to be left behind." Merry says as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It is a three-day gallop to Minas Tirith. And none of my riders can bear you as a burden."

Merry shakes his head "I want to fight." he continues to argue.

However "I will say no more." Theoden finishes spurring his horse off as Merry watches in complete shock at this.

Nearby Gajeel mounts his horse with Wendy already on, sitting in front of him, when Theoden stops by "War is no place for a little girl, Miss Wendy. I must insist that you remain behind just like Master Meriadoc." Theoden says.

"I am grateful for your concern about me King Theoden. However, I must respectfully decline your wish for me to stay behind. While it is true that I am only a little girl, at the same time I am a mage of Fairy Tail, and to have all my friends be fighting for their lives while I'm not would hurt my pride of being a mage of this great guild." Wendy replies with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Besides, she may be small but she packs the same amount of power me and Natsu have since she's a Dragon Slayer." Gajeel adds in.

"Very well. It is not as if I can control you lot after all, you do as you wish. But just remember, whatever happens out there is of your own accord." Theoden says as he continues riding off.

"Heh, nice job kid. Sure know how to handle yourself." Gajeel says to Wendy.

"When Erza-san and the others aren't here, I need to. Can't always rely on them to defend me, otherwise I'll never be as strong as them." Wendy says.

"Gihi." Gajeel chuckles.

"Form up! Move out! Form up! Move out!" Eomer yells as nearly all the Rohirrim are now mounted and following behind King Theoden.

"Ride! Ride now to Gondor!" Theoden yells as the six thousand Rohirrim begin to move out.

As for what was happening in Gondor at the current moment.

War drums beat rhythmically along with the iron boots of the Orcs as the massive army of Mordor marches out from Osgiliath towards the capital of Gondor, Minas Tirith. Spears and flags bearing the eye of Sauron are held high in the air, Siege Towers to get on the wall are pushed forward by Trolls, while there are also a large number of armored up "Attack" Trolls who march with the Orcs to add brute force and power to their numbers. The war drums are carried by "Drummer" trolls who continue beating away at them.

 _Back with Aragorn's Group…_

Having of found a torch and with help from Erza's Flame Empress Armor to light it up, the group continued making their way through the dark, and deserted cave. Everything was completely silent, it was cold, and the air was a bit thick. Turning the torch into a hole in the wall Aragorn found once again another massive pile of human skulls and so continued on with the others following closely behind.

"What is it?" Gimli asks as the dwarf has his axe held at the ready "What do you see?" he asks as Legolas looks around slowly.

"I see shapes of men...And of horses."

"Where?" Gimli asks looking around.

"Pale banners like shreds of cloud…Spears rise...like winter-thickets through a shroud of mist. The Dead are following. They have been summoned." Legolas says picking up his pace.

"The Dead?! Summoned?" Gimli questions with panic in his voice "I knew that…" he says trying to act strong and courageous.

"Maybe~, you just keep that stuff to yourself. No need to hear it or anything." Gray says.

"Seems it was a good thing to keep Wendy back with the Rohirrim. I don't want to know if she could've handled this place or not." Erza says.

"Hah. Very good...Very good, Legolas!" Gimli cries out noticing how far the others had gotten ahead of him as he quickly jogs to catch back up.

The group suddenly found themselves in some strange knee-high mist. Strange was the keyword here, as the mist was seemingly forming **arms** of which were reaching up and supposedly trying to drag the group down into the mist. However seeing that the mist was of no harm, Aragorn continued forward calmly while Legolas, Erza, and Gray swatted away at them in annoyance; Gimli meanwhile as he was looking around saw a ghostly hand reach up in front of his face and so tried blowing it away. It didn't work at first making him continue to blow at it until it finally blew away, though it wasn't long until another one appeared and as he blew on that he grew tired and began waving his arms at it to get rid of it, doing it again for another that appeared directly in front of him.

"I think you're gonna need a lot more wind to get rid of these things Gimli." Gray says noticing this.

As they continued the group gradually began just straight up ignoring them as they slowly made their way through the mist. When Aragorn heard something crunch beneath his feet, he looked down out of curiosity but almost immediately looked back up with widened eyes "Do not look down." he warns while continuing forward.

Gray of course does so out of his own curiosity and like Aragorn looks back forward immediately "Dude, I don't know if you know this. But whenever someone says that, there's always going to be the curious people so it's better to just not say it at all." Gray says.

Stepping on something and hearing a crack himself below his feet, and with the things the two just said, Gimli finds himself unable to ignore looking down to see what exactly was beneath them, as he discovers more human skulls to be the cause of the crunching noises since they're stepping on them. Gimli closes his eyes, really wishing he hadn't looked down as he reopens them looking back forward and tries to continue. Slowly at first as one foot after another continues to crush the skulls beneath him making the sickening, crunching sounds until he can no longer bare it and tries picking his pace up just so he can get out of there.

Finally getting out of the strange mist the group runs faster through the cave until suddenly they find themselves in a massive, open area, on a cliff with a strange structure of some kind built into the wall on their left. It appeared to be some massive building, with some steps leading up to a massive door as it appeared to be built right into the wall and mountain. As they walk to the center of the cliff, the wind suddenly picks up and some green mist appears in the darkness over the edge of the cliff, and a deep, dark voice begins speaking out.

" _Who enters my domain?"_

Turning around the group is suddenly greeted by a slowly appearing figure, the one that Aragorn had seen before as he now sees before him a ghostly, skeletal figure with a large crown on his head and a red cape.

"Okay, and I thought seeing the spirit of a Dragon was scary." Gray says.

Aragorn seems terrified at first, but regains his courage "One who will have your allegiance." he states.

Legolas and Erza eye the ghostly figure "The Dead, do not suffer the living to pass." the ghostly figure, known as the King of the Dead says.

"You will suffer me." Aragorn retorts.

This however seems to amuse the King of the Dead who begins laughing in a very dark manner as it echoes and booms through the air. All of a sudden, getting a very strange feeling the group turns around and to their shock what can only be described as a ghost city seeps out from the wall across the cliff, as hundreds of ghosts of dead soldiers float out from the city towards them.

"The way is shut." the group turn back towards the King of the Dead "It was made by those who are dead. And the Dead, keep it." Suddenly more ghost soldiers come out of the walls from behind the King and around him as the group now find themselves completely surrounded by the Army of the Dead. "The way is shut...Now you must die." the King says.

Legolas quickly pulls and aims an arrow at the King releasing it, the arrow however goes right through his forehead.

" **Ice Make Lance!"** Gray yells slamming his hands into the ground and sending a barrage of ice lances forward, once again however just like Legolas's arrow the ice lances go right through the dead soldiers not hampering them in the slightest.

" **Circle Sword!"** Erza yells requipping into her Heaven's Wheel armor and sending a barrage of swords flying in all directions once again to the same results as she goes back to her normal armor gritting her teeth in anger.

"This is bad!" Erza says.

"Right, they're dead. Can't be killed again just great!" Gray says.

Gimli raises his axe ready to defend himself either way if he can. Aragorn continues to eye the King of the Dead "I summon you to fulfill your oath." he says taking a few steps forward.

"None but the king of Gondor may command me." the King says as he fastly approaches Aragorn who holds his new sword, Anduril up. The King of the Dead lets out a battle cry and swings his sword, only for Aragorn to block it as this act seems to make all the other dead soldiers stop in their tracks.

"That line was broken!" the King says in absolute shock.

Somehow Aragorn is able to grip the throat of the King of the Dead making him groan in pain as Aragorn holds his sword up to him "It has been remade." he states, shoving him back. The Army of the Dead look at Aragorn as he looks back at them "Fight for us...and regain your honor...What say you?" Aragorn says as he begins walking forward.

The army of the dead continues to stare back at him as Aragorn remains composed raising his sword "What say you?" he asks again.

"Ah, you waste your time Aragorn. They had no honor in life they have none now in death." Gimli says.

"I am Isildur's heir. Fight for me." he continues as he stops and points his sword out at the dead and slowly turns towards the King "...and I will hold your oaths fulfilled." the King looks at him with a creepy smile on his face.

"What say you?" Aragorn questions again taking a step towards him while lowering his sword.

The King suddenly begins laughing again, as then he disappears and the rest of the army begins slowly backing away disappearing themselves, his laughter still continues to echo and boom through the air "You have my word! Fight, and I will release you from this living death! What say you?!" Aragorn yells out in shock seeing that this wasn't working.

"So if these guys don't help us?" Gray says.

"Then nothing we do will stop Sauron from wiping out everyone at Gondor, and Theoden and his Rohirrim." Erza says in anger.

"Stand you traitors!" Gimli yells but to no avail as the army of the dead disappears.

All of a sudden, the entire cave begins shaking violently catching the group's attention as they look around wondering what's going on. Looking back at the building, the walls around it begin collapsing releasing hundreds maybe even thousands of skulls from within creating an avalanche of skulls one were to say "Out!" Aragorn yells.

"What the hell?!" Gray yells.

The skulls continue to pour out as the group rushes to escape it, however they are now fighting against getting out and making sure to not get carried away into the dark abyss below as the skulls continue to pile out and fall around them hampering their running capabilities "Legolas!" Aragorn yells when he doesn't see him only to pop out at the last second.

After some tough fighting the group finally manages to make it out of the path of the skulls "Run!" Aragorn yells as they break off into a sprint.

Not just skulls now but the cave itself was collapsing all around them.

Eventually however the group does come across an exit and without a second thought rushes through to the outside world. Out of breathe they begin to recover, when Aragorn notices something. There was a river not that far away from them, but on that river, was as Elrond told him, the ships of the Corsairs, as the Corsairs seemed to have just finished destroying some small settlements on either side of the river. The others take notice of this as Aragorn stares on in despair, just seeing the burning ruins of those settlements brought the thought to him that he had failed. And soon, the rest of Gondor, and Middle-Earth, would be just like those settlements, destroyed and aflame from the forces of Sauron because he could not bring them the only help that could've saved them.

Aragorn collapses to his knees as Legolas walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort his friend, the others look on, knowing what Aragorn must've been going through as unfortunately, that Army of the Dead was the last hope they had of winning the upcoming battle. Just then, the wind begins picking up around them, and Aragorn recognizes it as he turns his head back and gets up. And from the mountain, the King of the Dead walks out "We fight."

* * *

 _Back at Minas Tirith…_

The army of Orcs comes to a stop outside of Minas Tirith, thousands of Orcs for miles, along with trolls, siege towers, and at the very front were catapults which were just waiting to begin raining destruction down on the city and its inhabitants.

"Open the gate! Quick!" one of the soldiers above the gate yell to the guards below who quickly do so but not all the way. As then a lone horse wonders in, dragging its rider behind it as the rider is revealed to be Faramir. Two arrows in him, one below his shoulder, and another on the right side of his stomach as he appeared to be dead.

The Orcs began readying their catapults, as meanwhile Gothmog rode with a victorious grin on his face through his men on a Warg.

Placed on a stretcher Faramir is carried up to the Citadel "Quick! Hurry!" the Citadel Guard from before ushers to the soldiers carrying Faramir as they reach the top.

Handing his Warg off to another Orc, Gothmog dismounts it and nearly falls if not for one of his underling's which he then pushes back in anger.

Back at the Citadel, Denethor rushes out with Pippin and some healers following "Faramir!" he says with grief in his voice. Faramir is placed on the ground "Say not that he has fallen." he says as he kneels down beside him.

"They were outnumbered. None survived." the Citadel Guard informs as Pippin looks on.

"Fear...The city is rank with it." he says with a growl as he turns around "Let us ease their pain. Release the prisoners." he orders to an Orc with a skull attached to his head before walking off.

"Catapults!" the Orc yells as the catapults are fired, but don't fire boulders or anything like that but instead, some small objects. The orc laughs sinisterly.

"Shields up!" a Gondor soldier yells as the soldiers who stand ready for battle do so, the shields blocking whatever the small objects are. Which turn out to be the heads of the soldiers killed at Osgiliath as the Orcs launch them as a means of psychological warfare, weakening the morale and will of the troops to fight as the heads of their fallen brethren continue falling all around them leaving the soldiers in utter disgust.

"My sons are spent…" Denethor whimpers as he begins walking away towards the ledge of the Citadel "My line has ended." Pippin meanwhile rushes over to check on Faramir himself, and finds out one thing. "He's alive!"

"The House of Stewards has failed." Denethor continues whimpering.

"He needs medicine my lord!" Pippin says, but Denethor seems to ignore this completely "My line has ended!" he cries out again.

"My lord!" Pippin yells out but to no avail.

Arriving at the ledge he looks out over it at the massive Mordor army on the field before Minas Tirith, as down below the Trolls begin loading the catapults with massive boulders this time to actually cause some death and destruction. Denethor looks at all of this "Rohan...has deserted us." he says.

The orc catapults begin firing, one impacts into a tower holding a trebuchet destroying it as the stone work comes crashing down and the first terrified screams of the civilian populace cry out. Gothmog chuckles at this as in the streets the civilians are in a mass panic with some soldiers trying to usher them to safety. Denethor's face turns into one of rage "Theoden's betrayed me." he says.

The catapults are reloaded and fired again, one of the boulders flies towards a building making the people inside cry out as they turn and rush away just as the boulder impacts and rebounds off it, destroying a part of the building and sending debris crashing down below as Gondor soldiers scramble to avoid it. Many of them do but a few are still hit with some decent sized rocks in the helmets causing some concussion to their heads.

"Abandon your posts!" Denethor yells, catching everyone's attention as they all look/turn towards him in shock at what they were hearing. "Flee~! Flee for your lives!" the soldiers on the wall of unsure of what to do at hearing this.

Denethor turns around with dazed look on his face, when suddenly he is smacked in the face by a staff, the staff of Gandalf who looks at him with disdain and clenched teeth. Gandalf hits him in the stomach making him bend over and then on the back of the head knocking him out as the Gondor soldiers around don't do anything but just watch "Huh, he beat me to it." Natsu says a little surprised that even Gandalf lost his patience with Denethor as he and Lucy stand behind him.

Gandalf raises his head "Prepare for battle!"

 _In the streets…_

It seemed that sure enough the Gondor soldiers were in a retreat when suddenly Gandalf, riding atop Shadowfax appears followed by Natsu, Lucy, and some more soldiers as he begins yelling "Hurry men! To the wall! Defend the wall!" this caught the soldiers off guard as they dove to the side to avoid him and his horse, but without a second thought quickly followed his orders and began making their way back to the wall.

"Return to your posts!" Gandalf yelled again catching more retreating Gondor soldiers off guard as with haste they followed after him and returned to their positions on and behind the wall ready for battle.

Gandalf rides Shadowfax onto the wall followed by Natsu, and Lucy as they look out at the field of Orcs before them "Look at all of them." Lucy says with a serious look in her eyes.

"Ready Lucy?" Natsu asks looking at her.

Lucy looks back and smirks nodding her head "You bet I am."

Natsu gives a toothy grin "That's what I'm talking about. Alright! I'm all fired up!" Natsu states.

"Send these foul beasts into the abyss!" Gandalf orders.

At this the Gondor soldiers begin returning fire, launching all their trebuchets and sending their own massive rocks flying towards the Orcs, Gothmog and many other Orcs around him look up as the first boulder from Gondor lands and crushes a group of their fellow Orcs. This disheartens a few of them "Stay where you are." Gothmog says calmly.

The Orcs fire their catapults back, a few do get destroyed by the trebuchets but there are still many more as at this rate it's just the Orc catapults and Gondor's trebuchets firing back and forth between each other. Along with the Gondor archers due to their better position and defenses allowing them to hit the Orcs where the Orcs archers cannot. One of the Orc catapults launched another rock, this one flew through the air towards the first level wall where in its path Natsu stood in wait as the Fire Dragon Slayer launched himself forward into the air "Right back at yah!" Natsu yells as he swings his fire coated right leg out striking the boulder and sending it flying back into the Orc forces as it impacted and rolled back a few feet crushing a lot of Orcs beneath it.

"And then **Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells creating a massive fireball in his hands as he throws it forward towards a group of catapults, the Orcs seeing this try running away in terror but are unable to escape it as the fireball impacts and explodes taking out the catapults and a large number of Orcs.

And just like the Rohirrim and Elves from Helm's Deep that night, the soldiers of Gondor were in absolute shock and awe at what they were seeing before them, a young boy who could not only fight, but seemed to possess immense strength and had control over fire itself. "Time to show them what I'm made of as well." Lucy quietly says to herself as she brandishes two of her golden keys.

" **Gate of the Ram, Gate of the Scorpion, I open thee! Aries! Scorpio!"**

With what sounds like a bell and two golden flashes of light which make some of the Gondor soldiers cover their eyes, on Lucy's right Aries appears "I'll give it my all! I'm sorry!" Aries says in her usual shy and polite voice. As on her left Scorpio appears in his usual pose "We are!" the sight of the two once again causes shock and awe in the Gondor soldiers around the three.

"Aries, use your Wool to block the rocks before they can hit anything. Scorpio, take them out or the catapults, whatever you feel like." Lucy says.

The two spirits nod their heads with determined looks in their eyes.

"We need more rubble up here!"

"Watch out!" a Gondor soldier nearby yelled as a boulder launched from a catapult flew towards a part of the wall with the Gondor soldiers in its path attempting to get away.

" **Wool Wall!"** Aries yells throwing her right arm outwards and shooting a mass of pink colored wool towards where the boulder was going to impact, the wool forming a wall in front of the soldiers as the boulder impacted into it and simply slid off it to the ground.

" **Sand Buster!"** Scorpio yells firing from his stinger a massive amount of sand in the form of a tornado as the tornado catches three boulders in the air and blasts them right back into the Orc forces, two of them hitting and rolling across the ground crushing many orcs while the third impacts into the center of one of the siege towers causing it to crumble to pieces.

Natsu launches himself into the air again and this time punches a boulder sending it back towards the catapult that fired it, destroying it and taking out some Orcs upon rolling back. If the Orcs were more scared before, they were definitely losing a lot of their fighting spirit now with Gothmog noticing this making him growl in anger.

"Down to the lower levels. Quick!" A Gondor soldier yelled.

"Double up men!"

Another group of Gondor soldiers arrived on the wall, and among them was Pippin wearing a helmet. Another boulder from a trebuchet impacted and rolled across the ground crushing many Orcs in its path while another hit and destroyed an entire siege tower. An Orc catapult launched another boulder which headed towards another part of the first wall, the Gondor soldiers seeing it coming their way couldn't react in time to escape it, luckily however Aries creates another Wool Wall which like before blocks the boulder and sends it simply falling to the ground.

" **Sand Spear!"** Scorpio yells firing a piercing beam of sand from his stinger destroying another catapult.

" **Roar of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells releasing his roar attack taking out a few catapults, a siege tower, and many enemy troops.

Another trebuchet fired its munition, Gothmog looked up as he noticed the trebuchet's boulder fly up in the air and heading right towards him. The Orcs around him quickly moved aside as far as they could to avoid it while Gothmog just stood his ground. At the last possible second Gothmog roars out in anger and moves aside causing the boulder to hit nothing but dirt and grass, Gothmog then spits on it in disgust.

Natsu prepared to launch another attack, when he stopped himself and seemed to be drawn towards the sky with Lucy beside him noticing this "What's wrong Natsu?"

"They're here!" Natsu says narrowing his eyes.

From the sky, the Nine Nazgul, the Witch-King among them, and their Fellbeast descend towards the city, the sight of them sending everyone on the Citadel running for cover as then the Nazgul began doing their job in taking out the trebuchets and just causing general death and chaos as well. The Witch-King flew over a walkway as his Fellbeast used its claws to knock a few Gondor soldiers off it, the Witch-King looked down into the city as he released his ear-piercing screech. That combined with the sight and roaring of the Fellbeast alone sent many Gondor troops on the ground scrambling for overhead cover in complete terror, Pippin tried finding Gandalf and the others but even he couldn't handle the screeches of the Nazgul as he threw his helmet off and covered his ears crying out in pain.

Lucy cried out and covered her ears from the screeches of the Nazgul as well "Lucy!" Natsu yells worried for her, turning back around he sees one of the Nazgul coming towards the troops on the wall.

"I don't think so!" Natsu yells as he launches himself into a sprint before jumping in the air towards the Fellbeast **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** he yells as the Nazgul however wises up and quickly pulls the fellbeast back making Natsu miss it as he lands back on the ground and looks up in anger. The fellbeast flies off.

"Dammit." Natsu says.

"Lucy!" Scorpio says as he and Aries gather around to make sure she's alright.

"I'm okay." Lucy says since the screech has come to a stop, looking up she sees the Nazgul continuing to wreak havoc on the city's defenders "This is bad." Lucy says, then turning around to see the remaining siege towers getting closer since they started moving upon the battle starting.

"You did good Aries, but it's time to switch things around." Lucy says.

"Thank you Lucy, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help!" Aries says as she is enveloped in golden light and disappears back to the Spirit World.

" **Gate of the Archer, I open thee! Sagittarius!"**

Sagittarius appears in his at attention saluting pose "I'm ready to assist, moshi, moshi!"

"Scorpio change of plans, take those siege towers out before they reach the wall. Sagittarius the trolls pushing them and the Nazgul are your targets, especially try to keep the Nazgul off the soldiers." Lucy says.

Gandalf and a few of the Gondor soldiers around him look up at the Nazgul "Hold them back! Do not give into fear. Stand to your posts! Fi~ght!"

A trebuchet fires its rock destroying the top part of a siege tower. A fellbeast flew towards a trebuchet, Sagittarius pulled three arrows back on his bow and fired, sending the three arrows into the fellbeast making it veer away out of pain and fly off. Unfortunately while that trebuchet was saved another was not as lucky as the fellbeast attacking that one slammed its claws into the wooden weapon destroying it and sending its pieces and the soldiers manning it falling off the tower to the ground below.

The Nazgul continued screeching causing some men to fall to their knees in absolute pain and terror, another fellbeast flew through the air and picked a lone Gondor soldier off the roof of a building before dropping him. Another fellbeast hovered down towards another building's rooftop and used its claws to pick up a large number of Gondor soldiers, carrying them off and then dropping them into the first level far below.

More rubble from a building getting damaged falls all around Pippin, crushing a few unfortunate Gondor soldiers as the Hobbit continues looking around in an absolute panic, the civilians all running in a state of terror trying to find some kind of place to be safe as Pippin is even knocked over by someone.

Back on the field the siege towers and Orc forces close in on the walls as the remaining catapults and trebuchets continue firing back and forth. The Gondor archers let loose a barrage of arrows, unfortunately they were for some reason targeting the towers themselves which didn't really do a whole lot "Not at the towers! Aim for the trolls! Kill the trolls! Bring them down!" Gandalf yelled as they quickly readjusted their aim and fired their arrows down at the trolls.

The trolls got hit but due to their high tolerance to pain it didn't slow them down a whole lot.

" **Roar of the Fire Dragon!"**

" **Sand Spear!"**

Sagittarius released a single arrow which then split into a few more. Natsu's attack decimated a siege tower and the enemy troops behind it, Scorpio's impacted into the center of another sending the tower toppling over, and Sagittarius's arrows impacted into two trolls taking them down. However, even all this is not enough as the first siege tower reaches the wall and drops its ramp.

The ramp drops down and destroys the battlement as the first Orc invaders charge off it and engage the Gondor soldiers on the wall, the Gondor soldiers manage to hold them back from getting too far as the archers continue to fire their arrows taking Orc after Orc on the ramp and at the back of the tower down as three Orcs are even sent flying off after being hit by some arrows.

Back on the ground a large number of Orcs charge towards the gate with a battering ram in hand, the Gondor archers stationed above let loose with their arrows down onto the attackers taking many of them out as the battering ram impacts into the gate, but doesn't do a whole lot, not even a little nudge. The archers continue shooting down as the Orcs gather around waiting for the gate to fall with a few Orc archers firing up at the Gondor soldiers but to no effect due to their better position, the ram hits the gate again but with the same effect of nothing.

All along the first level wall the remaining siege towers begin hitting and dropping their ramps deploying the Orcs onto the wall as the Gondor soldiers fight to prevent them from getting any further.

"Fight them back!" Gandalf yells as he suddenly turns around and spots "Peregrin Took!" the hobbit appearing in a dazed state as he looks at Gandalf. "Go back to the Citadel!" Gandalf orders.

"They'd called us out to fight." Pippin says.

Another siege tower hits the wall and drops its ramp, the Orcs coming off it manage to make quick work of a few Gondor soldiers allowing them to break through. Gandalf turns and sees two Orcs taking out three more Gondor soldiers that attempt to stop them as they then spot Pippin and begin rushing towards him as he looks on in fear. With a battle cry Gandalf launches himself forward taking out the first Orc, slamming both his sword and staff down onto it as he spins around and takes out the other Orc "This is no place for a Hobbit." he says turning to look at Pippin as Pippin looks up at him.

Hearing another Orc charging him Gandalf turns and slams his staff onto the Orc stunning it as he then slams his sword onto it taking the Orc out, another Orc charges him but is also taken out with a third one not that far behind. Another siege tower hits and deploys its Orcs who swarm onto the wall making short work of the Gondor soldiers in their way. Gandalf swings his staff into another Orc, as another charges him only to be met with the staff to the face as well as then Gandalf twirls around and slams both his weapons into another Orc sending it faceplanting into the stairs.

Another Orc charges at Gandalf who has not yet recovered as it raises its axe to kill him, Pippin however acts quickly taking out his sword and driving it into the Orc just as Gandalf notices it and turns to face it. Only the Orc has stopped in its tracks, still alive as it then seems to realize that it has just been stabbed as after a few seconds it finally collapses back dead. Pippin looks down at the dead Orc and then his sword, seeing the blood on it as he seems to be in a bit of awe that he was the one that did that as Gandalf looks at him with a smile of relief also finding it a bit impressive that he made such a quick decision that saved his life "Guard of the Citadel indeed." he says fully turning towards him.

"Now back up the hill. Quickly. Quick!" Gandalf says ushering him off.

Natsu throws a flaming fist into the face of an Orc sending it flying back into a few more Orcs. Another Orc comes up on him from behind and swings its war hammer at him, Natsu simply catches it however without even turning and sends an explosion blasting out from his hand into the Orc sending it flying as well. Hearing a large number of Orcs coming at him from behind this time, Natsu turns around **"Sword Horn of the Fire Dragon!"** he yells launching himself forward while engulfing his entire body in fire, slamming head first into the lead Orc with the force of the impact and subsequent small explosion sending it and the other Orcs all flying back and scattering all over the place.

As Natsu stands up, he fails to hear the Orc slowly creeping up behind him as the Orc lifts its sword to cleave him down his head, when suddenly a familiar whip wraps around the Orcs neck and with a pull sends the Orc flying over the wall. Natsu turns around hearing the Orcs screech as he then takes notice of Lucy who pulls her whip back into her hands and smirks at him, Natsu grins at her and nods his head thanking her "Don't go losing your touch and dying on me now, Natsu." Lucy says.

Suddenly Natsu launches himself forward towards her, catching her off guard as he then stops with his face just a few inches away from hers "Same goes for you, Lucy." he says, as behind her was another Orc just about having of brought its axe back as Natsu's hand grasps its face, Natsu then sending an explosion blasting out from his head sending the Orc flying.

Another siege tower drops its ramp onto the wall, but instead of a group of Gondor soldiers greeting them they are met with Loke who stands ready holding his right fist up "Hello there." Loke says as his right fist begins glowing in bright golden light, the brightness of it causing the Orcs to stop as they are blinded by it **"Regulus Impact!"** Loke yells slamming his fist into the first Orc, as then the blast from the impact sends it and all the other Orcs behind it flying back and off the tower.

" **Sand Spear!"** Scorpio yells firing his piercing beam of sand destroying the top of the tower in front of Loke. Scorpio then turns around to see a group of Orcs charging towards him **"Sand Wall!"** he yells summoning a large wall of sand between him and the Orcs making them stop in their tracks. The Orcs wait for the Sand Wall to drop, and when it does Loke is on the other side to greet them **"Regulus Gatling Impact!"** he yells delivering a barrage of lightning fast punches sending the Orcs flying into the air and some over the wall.

" **Wing Attack of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells releasing his streams of fire and spinning around to send them blasting out sending many Orcs into the air.

Lucy swings her whip into an Orc sending it flying to the side into another Orc and sending both of them over the wall. Another Orc comes at her from behind and swings its spear forward, Lucy ducks forward dodging it as she plants her hands on the ground **"Lucy Kick!"** she yells throwing her left foot backwards into the Orcs stomach sending it stumbling back. Lucy gets back up and swings her whip wrapping it around the Orcs stomach and with a pull sends the Orc flying over the wall.

Back to the Orcs at the gate, they still have yet to make even the smallest of dent into the Minas Tirith gate as the Gondor archers continue to shoot them creating a large pile of dead Orcs at the foot of the gate. Gothmog walks around in the back seeing a bunch of Orcs running away to safety, angered by the fact that they had still to yet breach the gate "What are you doing, you useless scum?!" he questions.

"The door won't give. It's too strong." one of his Orc underling's report.

The Orcs at the gate continue to fall by the Gondor archers just adding to the stacking body pile and even making the Orcs on the battering ram have to walk over their dead brethren just to reach the gate.

"Get back there and smash it down!" Gothmog orders.

"But nothing can breach it!" the Orc replies.

Gothmog looks back at the gate, as then a sinister smirk appears on his face "Grond will breach it." he says as he then turns around "Bring up the wolf's head!" he orders.

Suddenly far back off in the middle of the Orc army, four massive horned war beasts can be seen attached to some chains as they appear to be pulling something behind them, with the Orcs all chanting out a single word.

" _Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond!"_

Helping the war beasts are also some trolls who push on whatever it was they were pulling as what looked like a giant battering ram could be seen being held up in the air by a metallic structure with wheels, a platform for archers on both sides.

From their position, Gandalf, Natsu, and Lucy look on, Gandalf with a serious look on his face while Natsu and Lucy look on in shock.

"Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond!"

Grond, a massive one hundred foot long battering ram as the entire thing is carved to resemble a ravening great wolf as fire spews out from its carved jaws. The look of it alone, made everyone realize that this thing, was what was going to bring down Minas Tirith's gate.

" _Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond! Grond!"_

"Whoa…" Lucy says in shock and fear.

"No kidding...that fire looks tasty!" Natsu says with a more upbeat attitude. This however causes Lucy to slap him on the back of the head "Ow! What was that for?!" Natsu questions annoyed.

"That's not what's important here!" Lucy states annoyed by his carefree attitude.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

The Corsairs of Umbar continued up the river towards Gondor after having just laid waste to a few settlements on the banks, as the men onboard continued doing a variety of things such as keeping control of the boat, and preparing more weapons from battle, off on the rocky shore to their left Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Erza, and Gray are seen staring towards them.

"You may go no further." Aragorn calls out, catching the Corsair's attention as either the captain of the boat or their main leader stands up from his seat.

"You will not enter Gondor." Aragorn says with a serious look on his face.

Of course seeing the sight of just the five of them makes the Corsairs cry out in laughter "Who are you to deny us passage?" the Corsair captain questions walking towards the edge of the ship.

"Legolas, fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear." Aragorn quietly says.

"Perhaps you should let me give them the warning." Erza says cracking her knuckles.

"N-No, you might just straight up murder them by accident." Gray nervously says.

Legolas pulls an arrow from his quiver and takes aim "Mind your aim." Gimli says as Legolas pulls back. Just then however Gimli taps the bottom of Legolas's bow, altering his trajectory as Legolas releases the arrow which then flies into one of the Corsair's themselves who cries out in pain before collapsing dead.

"Oh." Gimli says acting surprised as Legolas looks at him questioning why he did that. "That's it. Right. We warned you. Prepare to be boarded." Gimli states.

The Corsairs once again laugh at this as they pull up near the shore "Boarded? By you and whose army?" the captain questions.

"This army." Aragorn calmly replies. Just as suddenly the King of the Dead appears running right through him with a battle cry as from the mountain the rest of his Army of the Dead comes charging out passing right through the group towards the Corsairs. Who began to cry out in absolute terror at just the sight of the Army of the Dead.

 _Back on the Secret Stairs…_

Sam and the Exceeds continued their trek back down the stairs after the heartbreaking breakup with Frodo, Sam had all but cried out every last teardrop in his body as he continued whimpering while making his way down with the Exceeds still behind him. "Now what do we do?" Happy questions.

"The only thing we can now, watch over Sam and protect him." Lily says.

"That Gollum! I know he did something with that bread, it had to be him!" Carla angrily says to herself.

"But what could he have done? If he didn't eat it, and it wasn't anywhere around us, then where could he have hid it?" Happy asks.

Just then Sam loses his footing on the steps due to how fast he was going and slips "Sam!" the three Exceeds yell as he begins falling and hitting steps and rocks on his way down. Happy and Lily quickly spread their wings and fly while Carla is about to, when her eyes widened and she began experiencing another vision.

 _Frodo frantically running through a dark cave in a state of terror, skeletal remains of Orcs wrapped up in, spider silk? Gollum sinisterly grins from the darkness and then suddenly what can only be described as a massive spider appear and let out a roar._

Carla gasps upon the vision ending. Below her Sam was lucky enough to have landed on a platform as Happy and Lily land around him "Sam, you alright?" Happy asks as Sam replies by groaning in pain. As he pushes himself up and opens his eyes, he spots something behind Happy and politely pushes him aside to get a view on what it was. Turning around while Lily walks around Sam to get a view on what he sees, the two's eyes widen in shock at what it was, it was the lembas bread!

"The lembas bread!" Happy says.

Sam grabs a piece of it and the leaf wrapping, staring at it in complete shock "So, that's what he did." Carla says flying down beside them "He tossed it over the ledge, I can't believe we didn't think about that." Carla says.

"That slimy little…" Sam says with rage as he crushes the bread in his hand. Sam then looks back up the stairs "We're going after them, and this time, no matter what happens. Gollum's going down!" Sam says.

"Then we better hurry. I just had a vision right now, and it looked like Frodo was in trouble." Carla says.

 _Gondor…_

The Rohirrim stop to rest for a bit around a medium-sized lake as then Eomer rides on his horse towards Theoden to give him some news "The scouts report Minas Tirith is surrounded. The lower level's in flames. Everywhere legions of the enemy advance." he says.

"Time is against us." Theoden says with a worried look on his face. "Make ready!" he yells as nearby Gajeel stretches his arms and legs out with Wendy sitting on the horse still.

"Huh? Sounds like Salamander and Blondie aren't doing so well in the whole defending apartment." Gajeel says.

"Let's just hope they're alright." Wendy says.

"Ah~, highly doubt some stupid Orcs are gonna take either of those two down. Especially Salamander." Gajeel says remounting his horse.

And close to them, having of secretly rode amongst the Rohirrim in disguise was Eowyn, and Merry who she had grabbed after his talk with Theoden, the two also catching a breather as Merry ate some bread. "Take heart Merry. It will all be over soon." Eowyn says catching Merry's attention.

"My lady...you are fair and brave...and have much to live for." Merry says noticing the solemn look on her face as she turns and looks at him "...and many who love you." he says. Eowyn continues to look at him "I know it is too late to turn aside. I know there is not much point now in hoping. If I were a knight of Rohan, capable of great deeds. But I'm not. I'm a Hobbit. And I know I can't save Middle-earth. I just want to help my friends. Frodo. Sam...Pippin. More than anything, I wish I could see them again." Merry finishes.

"Prepare to move out!" Eomer shouts.

"Make haste. We ride through the night." Theoden says as he remounts his horse. One of the Rohirrim take out and blow a horn to signal to the others that they were moving out.

Merry looks at Eowyn in shock, as she continues to stare at him, as Merry then looks for and grabs his helmet putting it on as he stands up. Eowyn then places her helmet on which covers her face except for her eyes and mouth "To battle." she says.

"To battle." Merry says.

"Alright, better hang on again. Gonna be another bumpy ride." Gajeel says to Wendy.

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **FairySinGirl** \- Eh, I found him going to try and help Faramir out a bit more better then trying to light the beacon. After all, Pippin would probably be able to do it more stealthy compared to him. Plus he's more useful in battle then just, well yeah lighting a beacon. As shown by him helping drive the Nazgul away before they could cause anymore casualties.

To **FlameDragonHime -** Hm, well if he is working on it then that's cool. But I could've sworn that he said that once he was done, he's done. Besides if the group is going on the 100 Year Quest, again as I questioned wouldn't that mean they'd never see Fairy Tail again until they're like...really old? And that's if they even live to see it cause...again. 100 YEAR QUEST! Unless these people have longer life spans or something in the FT World?

To **Mr. Goldenweek -** I appreciate you asking me a question related to my story Heroes UNITE!, but could you please not ask it on another story like this, the last thing I want is other people from Heroes UNITE! Coming over and asking questions on this story, when the questions that should be asked should be related to this story, not another one. Hence why I'm working on this story at the moment, because I want to and if there are questions asked, they should be related to this story. But I will answer your question just this one time, but next time don't expect it until I post for Heroes UNITE! And that is no, it will just be Sora joining the other heroes.

To **Gruvia and NaLu 4 Life -** Good crying...right?


	18. The Battle to Decide All

The Battle for Minas Tirith continued to rage into the night, the Orcs were now launching balls of hay that were lit on fire into the city to cause more psychological terror to the soldiers inside. The Orcs, who have now been joined by Easterlings begin to gather at the gates of Minas Tirith, still chanting Grond's name as the massive battering ram has now reached it as well. The trolls pull on the massive ropes bringing Grond back, once far enough the trolls release the ropes sending Grond swinging into the gate. This time, the effects can be seen as inside the gate is actually blasted back and shakes a little.

"Back to the gate! Hurry~!" Gandalf yells while riding atop Shadowfax, Natsu, Lucy, and the Gondor soldiers rush towards the gate alongside him as they prepare for the Orcs inevitable breach. The soldiers form up along with the archers who also take to the nearby buildings as they prepare their bows and arrows.

" **Gate of the Golden Bull, Gate of the Goat, I open thee! Taurus! Capricorn!"** Lucy yells summoning the two spirits.

"I am rea~dy for battle!" Taurus yells.

"As am I." Capricorn says in his usual calm tone.

Grond hits the gate again, the battle continues to rage throughout Minas Tirith. Grond is pulled back and released again slamming into the gate, the fear in the soldier's eyes can be seen as they slowly back up "Steady~. Steady~." Gandalf says.

Grond is pulled back again, the Orc archers on the side platforms continue shooting up at the Gondor archers as Grond is released again, this time breaking through the gate but not opening it as the sight of the Wolf's head sends more fear down a few of the Gondor soldiers spines as they keep their spears held forward. Natsu, Lucy, and her spirits get ready for what was to come.

"You are soldiers of Gondor." Gandalf says as Grond is pulled back out "No matter what comes through that gate you will stand your ground." he finishes. Grond flies back through the hole, this time blasting the gate wide open as then a large group of armored up and heavily armed attack trolls immediately come charging in. Gandalf's eyes widen in shock "Holy shit!" Natsu yells.

"Run! Run!" a Gondor soldier yells as the trolls immediately make quick work of a few soldiers right off the bat, some of which try to engage them, and others who try and fail to run away.

"Volley~!" Gandalf yells.

"Fire!" another Gondor soldier yells as the archers unleash their arrows, causing some damage to the trolls who don't have armor covering their body but not enough as the ones with heavy armor move right on with barely any arrows on them.

The archers pull back while the spearmen lower their spears forward, just as the Orcs and Easterlings charge in and collide with them, some Orcs and Easterlings getting immediately skewered by the spearmen while others manage to get past and close enough to engage the Gondor soldiers. One Gondor spearman drives his spear into the chest of an Orc and slams it to the ground. The trolls continue making quick work of many more Gondor soldiers who are too scared to engage them while those that do barely cause any damage to them before being crushed by their massive weapons. Gandalf swings his sword cutting down a few Orcs and Easterlings, as he then rides past one of the less armored trolls and cuts it across the neck sending the massive beast toppling over dead.

The battle continues to rage as the Orcs and Easterlings collide with the Gondor soldiers, even a Warg is seen charging into the heat of battle. **"Sword Horn of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells launching his fire engulfed body towards a troll, the troll attempts to smash him with its massive hammer but Natsu easily breaks through it with his immense strength and power, and slams himself right into the troll's chest sending it flying back and crushing a group of enemy soldiers.

" **Crushing Fang of the Fire Dragon!"** Natsu yells swinging his right arm and striking another troll across the face with his fire engulfed fingertips like a claw.

" **Tension Ma~x!"** Taurus yells bringing his Labrys axe back and then swinging it forward, striking a large group of enemy soldiers and sending them flying.

Taurus looks to his right in time to see two attack trolls coming at him as they both swing their massive maces at the bull spirit. Taurus throws his axe forward sideways blocking the maces as he becomes deadlocked with the two trolls who attempt to overpower him "Ain't no~body stronger than me!" Taurus yells as he pulls back a little, and then with all his strength pushes the trolls managing to send them stumbling back. **"Rampa~ge!"** he yells as he jumps into the air and slams his axe into the ground. Sending an earthquake-like blast towards the trolls as it impacts into them and sends them flying into some nearby buildings.

An Easterling charges at Lucy as she quickly swings her whip, smacking him across the face and sending the Easterling twirling around to the ground. An Orc charges at her from behind as Lucy hears it coming and manages to dodge its sword when it drives it forward, Lucy wraps her whip around the sword and pulls on it to help her launch the Orc over her shoulder into the ground. An Easterling finds his helmet smashed to pieces from a powerful hit, an Orc is hit in the back of the neck, another Orc is kicked in the face, another Easterling is slammed into a wall followed by another Easterling, and finally two Orcs are slammed face first into each other. All of this from Capricorn who was able to deliver all this damage in just under a few seconds at such an immense speed that only a blur of him could be seen by the enemy.

 _Meanwhile…_

Finding Frodo, that was all that was on their mind right now as Sam, Happy, Carla, and Lily ran/flew through the dark and dreary cave system, only finding out what horrors lied within upon traveling deeper into the place. Dead and dried up Orcs, and small animals hung around the place, all of them wrapped up in what could only be described as some massive spider silk which covered much of the cave. "Well, I think it's safe to say we know what to expect in here." Lily says.

"How big is this spider that it can even kill Orcs?" Happy says in fear.

"If what I saw in my vision is the one that did this, it's big. Really big." Carla says.

"And it's probably going after Mr. Frodo. Least we can hope for is that perhaps this thing got that Gollum and we no longer have to worry about him!" Sam says as he comes to a stop at a fork in the cave.

"Which way do we go now?" Sam questions as he looks down both paths.

As the Exceeds look, Happy spots something lying on the ground beside the left path entrance and quickly flies over, picking up a familiar item that they knew belonged to Frodo "Guys!" Happy calls to them attracting their attention as he then holds up the Phial that Galadriel gave to the Hobbit.

Sam and the others rush over as Sam grabs it from Happy "It's the Phial Lady Galadriel gave to Frodo." Sam says as the water begins glowing.

"He has to be down this way then, hurry!" Carla says with haste as the group run/fly down the left tunnel.

After much more running/flying the group finally spot what looks like an exit to the outside and go through it, only to stop in their tracks as before them, was a massive spider, and they meant massive! The spider however didn't notice them as it seemed to be preoccupied with something, or worse, someone, as in the legs of the giant spider was Frodo being spun around and covered with spider silk. "Frodo…" Sam says in shock as he and the Exceeds look on also in complete shock.

Unsheathing his sword, Sam slowly approached the giant spider, and once he got close enough the spider finally took notice of Sam and stopped what it was doing as it looked at him. "Let him go you filth." Sam says with a serious look in his eyes.

"Sam!" Happy calls out worried that he'd get hurt, or worse.

"Let him go!" Sam demands as the giant spider does just that and roars at him "You will not touch him again." Sam states as he holds the Phial up.

"Come on and finish it." Sam challenges as he slowly approaches the spider, the spider accepts the challenge as it charges towards him. As Sam readies himself to engage the massive creature, Lily jumps up in the air behind him and shifts into Battle Mode, brandishing his sword as he comes down and drives Musica right into the head of the giant spider. The spider immediately begins screeching out in absolute pain, but still remains alive somehow as Lily struggles to keep the blade in its head and so quickly pulls it out and this time drives it straight into the underbelly of the eight-legged monster, as Lily spreads his wings and takes off into the sky with the spider still stuck to his sword.

"Just die already!" Lily yells with anger as he spins around while throwing his sword outward, sending the giant spider flying off from the sword and falling to the ground far away from Sam and the others while screeching out in pain.

With the giant spider dealt with, most likely since there was no way it could've survived two massive stab wounds to its body, Lily floats back to the ground and shifts back to his normal body "Well, thanks for the hand there Lily. Could've been an ugly battle there." Sam says as Lily nods his head.

"Frodo!" Happy calls out as he and Carla fly over to the wrapped up Frodo, Sam looks over remembering about him as he and Lily run/fly over to him "Mr. Frodo!" Sam calls out.

Dropping his sword and putting the Phial away, Sam kneels down beside Frodo and tears through the webbing on Frodo's face, only to come across the lifeless look in his eyes and pale skin. Seeing the state Frodo is in, the eyes of the group widen in shock and absolute sadness as tears immediately begin falling down Sam's face "Oh no...Frodo." Sam says as he tries shaking him awake.

"Mr. Frodo." Sam says again as he lifts him up, tears appear in the Exceeds eyes as Carla and Lily look to the ground while Happy looks to the sky. "Wake up...Don't leave me here alone. Don't go where I can't follow." Sam whimpers, still praying that he would see Frodo's eyes blink and move with life once more.

"Wake up." Sam pleads once again. But when no signs of life from his best friend are seen, Sam comes to the most horrible conclusion he doesn't want to think of "Not asleep...Dead." Sam says as he hugs his friend and continues crying. Tears stream down his, and the Exceeds faces as Happy and Carla whimper, Lily still looking at the ground as even he has tears going down his cheeks.

As the four continue to mourn over Frodo's death, Frodo's sword, Sting which lies near him begins to suddenly glow, Lily takes notice of this and then remembers back to the last time it glowed in Moria, as when it glowed…

"Hey, guys!" Lily quietly says catching their attention as they look and take notice of the sword. Just then, they immediately begin to hear the sounds of Mordor Orcs coming their way down the steps that were before them, the Orcs seeming to be squabbling amongst each other.

"You get back, you scum!"

"We got to hide, quickly!" Lily says since the last thing they needed was getting discovered by the Orcs. Looking around Sam spots a nearby hiding place they could use as he quickly attempts to drag Frodo with him, however before he can get far he spots an Orc at the top of the steps who luckily has his back turned to him at the moment. However he couldn't risk it, as Sam apologized to Frodo hoping the Orcs wouldn't do anything to him since he was dead, and with the Exceeds quickly and quietly runs/flies over and gets behind some rocks for cover.

Not even a minute later does a large group of Orcs, as well as some Black Uruks, too many for Lily to take on without putting the others in harm's way, come down the steps looking at Frodo "What's this?" one of the Orcs question.

"Looks like old Shelob's been having a bit of fun." the Orc says with humor.

Sam and the Exceeds peek out from their hiding spot "Killed another one, has she?" one of the Black Uruks question.

"No." the Orc says, suddenly poking Frodo with the handle of his whip as he looks up at the others "This fellow ain't dead."

At hearing this, Sam and the others' eyes widen in shock "Not dead?" Sam quietly says.

"She jabs him with her stinger, and he goes as limp as a boned fish. Then, she has her way with them. That's how she likes to feed. **Fresh** blood. Get him to the tower!" the Orc orders. Another Orc and one of the Black Uruks both grab Frodo and begin taking him away as the rest of the group begin to turn and head back the way he came.

"Samwise you fool." Sam berates himself.

"You mean we're all fools. We have to do something!" Carla says.

"Engaging them now would be foolish, there's too many. And all it takes is just one of them getting away to alert the rest of Mordor that we're here. If we're gonna rescue Frodo we have to do it quietly, and without getting noticed." Lily says.

"This scum will be awake in a couple hours."

"Then he'll wish he'd never been born." the Orc says as he looks around one last time before following after his group.

Sam and the Exceeds wait in their hiding spot just a little bit longer, before finally deciding to move out after them.

 _Back at Minas Tirith..._

The Orc catapults continued to rain destruction down as the Orcs now swarmed into the city from both the walls and now the wide open gate.

"Retreat!" a Gondor soldier yells.

Unable to hold off the endless swarm of Orcs and Easterlings at the gate, Gandalf, Natsu, Lucy, and the Gondor troops are forced to retreat as the enemy troops give chase.

"Help us!"

"Someone help us!"

"Hey we're trapped!" a group of Gondor soldiers called from inside a building as the entrance to the place was blocked by fire. However no matter how much they yelled their fellow soldiers just kept on running "Don't leave us!"

Just then Natsu appears in front of the blocked door "Stand back!" he yells. The Gondor soldiers listen as Natsu immediately begins sucking up the flames much to their shock and awe, however that does not matter as at this point it proves to be very helpful as it is not long until all the flames are gone.

"Thank you!"

"Quickly retreat! Go! Get to the second level!" Natsu says ushering the soldiers out of the building.

Lucy places one of her golden keys into a barrel of water **"Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee! Aquarius!"** Lucy yells summoning Aquarius from the water as she levitates in the air.

"Aquarius put these fires out!" Lucy says as Aquarius follows, swinging her urn outwards and sending a massive blast of water flying into a few of the buildings putting the fires on and around them out. Freeing some more trapped Gondor troops from them as they immediately rush out of the buildings and begin running "Quickly everyone this way! Get to the second level!" Lucy yells ushering the troops back.

Meanwhile Aquarius seems to remain quiet...rather too quiet for her usual self as Lucy takes notice of this; that and coupled with how she hasn't yelled at her for summoning her out of a barrel of water, or even insulted her just once yet. Something was off as Lucy turned to look at her "What's gotten into you? No insult, no yelling? No hitting me with your water by "accident"?" Lucy asks.

Aquarius looks down at her out of the corner of her eyes for a second, before then closing them and humming an "Hm. I'll admit, you've gained a bit of respect from me." Aquarius says, a smirk on her face.

"Huh?" Lucy says with a raised eyebrow now really confused on what was wrong with her.

"You managed to finally get yourself a boyfriend, did you?" Aquarius questions finally looking at Lucy with the smirk still present on her face, before then turning her head slightly to look at Natsu as he punches away an Easterling and then turns around to kick an Orc. Lucy hearing this come from Aquarius, finds it a bit embarrassing for herself as her cheeks turn bright red, sure she and Natsu were now dating but she still kind of wanted to keep it on the down-low just for...a little bit.

"H-How did you-"

"Are you a moron or something? We're your spirits for crying out loud we know everything that happens to our master. Even in the affairs of "love" you might say." Aquarius says looking back at Lucy. "And for your first boyfriend you didn't do half bad, he's got looks, good fighting skills." Aquarius looks away and closes her eyes "Though you do lose some points for how much of an idiot he can be."

Aquarius reopens her eyes "Also it was about damn time to you two got together, now that stupid bet is over and once I'm done here I can go get my payment." she finishes.

"B-Bet?" Lucy questions.

"Honestly should you be surprised at this point? Yes even us spirits had our own bet going on whether you'd two would end up together or not. Sure I put my bet down on you two ending up together but I didn't expect it this damn soon. Would've thought you'd go through at least ten break-ups before you two finally realized your feelings for one another." Aquarius says.

"Ten?!" Lucy says a bit annoyed by that part.

Just then the roar of a troll catches the two's attention as they look forward to see the army of Mordor charging right towards them up the street "Allow me." Aquarius says. Holding her urn above her head, Aquarius summons up all the water from the nearby barrels and other places with water into it, once gathered Aquarius lets out an angry battle cry as she swings her urn forward sending a massive blast of water flying towards the Orcs, trolls, and Easterlings. All of whom are taken back by the oncoming wave of water as the water impacts into them sending them washing right back down the street.

Natsu runs up between the two as he sees this "Whoa, nice job Aquarius!" Natsu says.

Just then Aquarius looks down at Natsu with a stern look in her eyes, frightening Natsu a bit as he raises his left arm up and clenches his teeth. Aquarius gets up in his face "Listen here boy! Whether I care what happens to Lucy or not is none of your concern, but just remember that she **is** my master. So you hurt her feelings, or hurt her physically, I'll make sure to come and hurt you myself ten times worse! I'll drown you so damn deep in the water your body won't even resurface for a million years! Got it?!" Aquarius angrily questions.

"Y-YES SIR! I MEAN MA'AM!" Natsu cries back in terror.

Aquarius leans back up with her hands to her hips "Hmph, good. Now then, time to get my payment." she says before disappearing.

Natsu lowers his arm, still in shock from what just happened "What, was that all about?" Natsu asks looking at Lucy.

Lucy meanwhile finds herself completely embarrassed, but also shocked by how overprotective Aquarius just showed herself right there "I...have no idea myself." Lucy replies scratching the back of her head.

"The city is breached! Fall back, to the second level!" Gandalf yells as he continues to direct more Gondor troops to the second level. Many of them in retreat, running as fast as they can while a few fight the Orcs and Easterlings to provide them some cover. "Get the women and children out! Get them out! Retrea~t!"

"Come on! Come on, move!" a Gondor says as he along with a few others continue ushering their brothers in arms through the gate to the second level.

The sun has begun to rise as back out on the field "Move into the city. Kill all in your path." Gothmog says to one of his men.

And thus the entire army of Mordor began making their way through the gate and into the city, the Gondor archers still atop the gate and on the two towers beside it continued to fire their arrows down on the invading Orcs but they weren't making much of a dent in their forces, and their arrow supplies were beginning to run low. The Orcs who were waiting outside on the field are full of energy as many of them run through the streets and buildings, searching for someone to kill as unfortunately the soldiers of Gondor were beginning to tire from their continuous fighting.

"Take them down!"

A group of Orcs ran through some buildings, some Gondor troops attempted to stop them but were almost immediately cut down by the Orcs as the trolls also continued laying waste to the soldiers. Worse yet were the civilians who were very close in getting involved in the combat as they continued to run to safety screaming in absolute terror. The streets were beginning to get overcrowded by Gondor troops and Orcs alike making the battles very, very close and tight and almost impossible to move anything, which didn't hinder the Orcs much who would even resort to biting down on the necks of the Gondor soldiers to kill them.

That's not to say though that the Gondor troops weren't giving it their all as many of them were getting lucky in their fights, sometimes even managing to gang up and overpower a smaller group of Orcs and if they lost their weapons, they would resort to using their fists to pummel the Orcs to death. "Fight! Fight to the last man! Fight for your lives!" Gandalf yelled as near him Natsu continued punching and kicking away at the Orcs, and even Lucy was losing room to use her whip in making her resort to mostly kicking, but a few punches herself in necessary.

"Gandalf!" Natsu turned upon hearing Pippin's voice wondering if he heard that.

"Gandalf!" It was Pippin as his yell also caught Gandalf and Lucy's attention as the three spotted him making his way through the retreating soldiers.

"Denethor has lost his mind! He's burning Faramir alive!" Pippin yells running up to Gandalf.

The eyes of the three widen in shock "Up! Quickly!" Gandalf says quickly pulling Pippin up onto Shadowfax and taking off.

"Come on Lucy!" Natsu says as the two Fairy Tail mages run after Gandalf.

Running through an archway trying to get to the Citadel, the group come to a sudden stop as the Witch-King himself appears before them riding atop his Fellbeast. Gandalf raises his staff forward "Go back to the abyss!" Gandalf states in a demanding voice.

The Witch-King says nothing as his loud, raspy breathing is heard. Pippin looks up at the Witch-King with fear in his eyes, even Lucy seems to be a bit terrified by him as Natsu protectively stands in front of her. "Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master." Gandalf says.

"Do you not know death when you see it, old man?" the Witch-King says as suddenly both Pippin and Lucy cry out in pain.

"Lucy!" Natsu yells as Lucy covers her ears and begins falling to her knees making him catch and hold her.

"This is my **hour.** " the Witch-King says as he unsheathes his sword and holds it into the air. The sword lights itself up on fire as the screeching sound of the Nazgul suddenly begins emitting from it, the air around the blade seems to be drawn towards it as Gandalf raises his staff and Natsu turns himself back around ready for whatever was to come.

Just as the screeching stops, Gandalf's staff suddenly explodes in his hands blasting both him and Pippin back off Shadowfax as Pippin rolls back a few feet "Gandalf! Pippin!" Natsu yells wondering what just happened.

Pippin picks himself up and gets against the wall "Gandalf!" he yells.

Gandalf attempts to pick himself up but a roar from the Fellbeast makes him fall right back to the ground, Pippin draws his sword in an attempt to save Gandalf, but upon the Fellbeast roaring at him all that courage disappears as he drops his sword and has a look of pure terror in his eyes.

"You have failed. The world of Men will fall." The Witch-King declares.

"Like hell it will!" Natsu states lighting up both of his fists as he launches himself towards the Witch-King. Before he can reach him however the Witch-King releases a powerful screech from his "face," this one more powerful than before as a powerful gust of wind can actually be seen blasting into and around the Fire Dragon Slayer as while it doesn't blast him back it does slow him down a lot as he continues inching forward towards the Witch-King in mid-air. The screech also like everyone else seems to be causing some pain mentally instead of physically, Natsu's face wincing slightly from this pain as he seems to try and fight it off in an attempt to get at the Witch-King.

The Witch-King continues screeching at Natsu, sweat pouring down his face like crazy as his whole left eye is now closed and the flames on his fists begin to diminish. Until eventually Natsu finds himself unable to take it anymore as the flames on his fists go out and he presses his hands against his ears crying out in pain. This leaves him wide open as the Fellbeast roars at Natsu and throws its head into him, sending him flying to the side and into the wall as before he can fall to the ground the Fellbeast slams its claw into Natsu pinning him against the wall.

"Natsu!" Lucy cries out.

Natsu screams, still in pain from the Witch-King's screech which still rings in his ears making him unable to retaliate as he tries to shake his head clear of the sound. "Foolish Mage. Not even you, can stop me this time. Now that I am at my full power, you cannot defeat me. Now, di~e." the Witch-King says as the Fellbeast opens its mouth, ready to start tearing away at Natsu with its teeth, when…

" **Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens. All the stars, far and wide. Show me thy appearance…"**

Hearing this strange, incantation what it sounds like, the Witch-King and Fellbeast both turn their heads. Along with Natsu as he manages to open his eyes and look out the corner of them, and Gandalf, and Pippin who turn to see now not one Lucy, but two! The two Lucy's on their knees, hold hands with their left/right arm extended forward towards the Witch-King **"...With such shine. Oh Tetrabiblos. I am the ruler of the stars. Aspect become complete. Open thy malevolent gate…"**

"Lu...cy." Natsu weakly says.

The Witch-King not liking this one bit, pulls on the reins of his Fellbeast, making the creature drop Natsu as the Fellbeast then begins making its way quickly towards the two Lucy's "Lucy!" Natsu cries out with his head raised as Gandalf and Pippin look on in terror.

" **...Oh 88 Stars of the heaven. Shine!"**

The Fellbeast opens its mouth **"Urano Metria!"** the two Lucy's yell at the same time as suddenly a large group of bright, glowing golden orbs appear around the two, the intense light stopping the Fellbeast as it rears back in terror and the Witch-King covers his face screeching out in pain. The golden orbs then launch themselves towards the Fellbeast, spinning around rapidly and seemingly creating a massive golden blast of light in the center as it slams into the Fellbeast, blasting the monster back as it roars out in pain and is sent flying. This does not seem to last long however, as upon the Fellbeast getting blasted some distance away from the group the light and orbs die down and disappear. The Lucy on the left nearly faints, almost hitting the ground had it not been for the very quick reflexes of Natsu as he gets on his toes and launches himself onto his feet, rushing over and sliding to catch her before she can hit the ground.

"Lucy!" Natsu says.

The other Lucy is covered by a puff of pink smoke, and revealed to be the Celestial Spirit Twins Gemini "Lucy?" Gemi says.

"Are you alright?" Mini asks.

Lucy opens her eyes albeit weakly as she manages to lift herself up "Y-Yeah. Just a little worn out is all. All this fighting has really depleted my magic. Especially that just now." Lucy replies.

Just then the group hear a familiar screech and look forward to see the Witch-King and his Fellbeast, still alive but for some reason and luckily, flying away "Even with Gemini it wasn't enough to cast the full power of Urano Metria to take him out." Lucy says a bit angered at herself.

"Don't worry, at least it drove him away for now. Next time we meet though, I'll be ready to take him!" Natsu says.

"I would like to think that Miss Lucy's powerful magic attack was what drove him away. But, I think it was something else. Something that garnered his attention away from us." Gandalf says as he begins to recover with Pippin also recovering as he walks over to help him.

"And what could that be?" Lucy asks.

When suddenly a very familiar horn resounds out through the air. Catching their attention.

* * *

Back on the field Gothmog comes to a sudden halt as he looks to his right, an annoyed look on his face as he growls and behind him the marching Orcs begin to stop one at a time also beginning to take notice as the same horn roars through the air again. Over the nearby hill, with the sun breaking through some clouds outside the dark ones, the Rohirrim appear, arriving at the top of the hill. The Rohirrim in their ranks come to a stop, at the lead Theoden rides out a few feet ahead of them, as the forces of Rohan get a good look at the massive army of Mordor not that far from them as then all of the Orcs still outside Minas Tirith come to a halt taking notice of them.

The sight of the sea of Orcs, and seeing Minas Tirith burning, was enough to send some chills down even the most brave of Rohirrim as they could just tell they were outnumbered ten to one. Even Eowyn and Merry had some fear on their faces, they were about to experience a massive battle for the first time, and it wasn't looking good for them as Eowyn wrapped an arm around Merry "Courage Merry. Courage for our friends." Eowyn says.

"Hey, hey. The hell you doing Salamander sleeping on the job? I would've expected you to have wiped half these guys out by now. Heh, guess that means more for me." Gajeel says trying to keep up a brave look in his eyes. But with a good eye it could be seen that the small sweat drops on his forehead, meant that even Gajeel was a bit worried since there were still the Rohirrim, and worse Wendy, that might not be as lucky in dealing with numbers as massive as what he was seeing.

Wendy herself tried to keep up a brave look on her face, but on the inside even she was frightened just a bit by the sight of thousands of Orcs.

"Form ranks you maggots. Form ranks!" Gothmog begins ordering while walking behind his men, turning a few as the Orcs now prepared to face the Rohirrim. "Pikes in front. Archers behind." the Orcs began marching forward, stopping after a few feet as the Orc Pikemen lowered their weapons forward.

Theoden could see that things did not look good, but he couldn't let the numbers of the Orcs stop him and his men now. If they were going to die, they were going to take out as many of these Orcs as they could and die a warrior's death. He spurred his horse to the right and began galloping down the line "Eomer, take your eored down the left flank." he orders.

"Flank ready." Eomer says as Theoden rides past.

"Gamling, follow the king's banner down the center. Grimbold, take your company right after you pass the wall." Theoden says as he stops and rides around the soldier, throwing his arm out to send him off towards his company "Forth, and fear no darkness!"

"Arise! Arise Riders of Theoden!" Theoden yells turning to face his men, Eowyn out of fear hides her face from him. "Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered." he begins riding down right back the way he came "A sword day, a red day...ere the sun rises!" he yells for all of his men to hear.

Stopping back at the center of his army, the Rohirrim at the front all lower their spears forward, just as the Orcs at the front rank crouch down holding their spears up and forward.

"Whatever happens, stay with me. I'll look after you." Eowyn says to Merry.

"Hey, stick close to me, alright kid." Gajeel says to Wendy.

Theoden begins riding back down the line with his sword held out, the sword tapping against the poles of the spears held out as he does so "Ride now! Ride no~w! Ri~de! Ride for ruin, and the world's endin~g!" he shouts at the top of his lungs, coming to a stop and taking a few steps forward as the Rohirrim raise their spears back up.

"Dea~th!" Theoden cries out.

"Death!" the Rohirrim cry out as well.

"Dea~th!"

"Death!"

" **Dea~th!"**

" **DEA~TH!"** Even Merry and Eowyn join in on the battle cry.

Yelling death, while it sounded cool at the moment, wasn't exactly a word that Wendy would like to yell out exactly, and Gajeel wasn't into the whole one big final battle cry thing.

"FORTH EORLINGAS!" Theoden yells out swinging his sword forward.

A few of the Rohirrim who have horns blow them, the great and final signal as then the Rohirrim begin to move out. Slowly at first until eventually the horses break out into a full on sprint as the Rohirrim begin fully charging towards the Orcs. The Orc archers meanwhile step forward and raise their bows to the sky with their arrows pulled back. The Rohirrim continue charging, the horses at their top speeds as they manage to spread out just a little bit, not by much but are not as close to one another as before. Gajeel squints his eyes and takes notice of the Orc archers "Hey, kid. Think you can hang on if I throw you on my shoulder?" Gajeel quickly asks Wendy.

"I can try, why?" Wendy asks looking up at him.

"Cause we can sure use you right about now." Gajeel says grabbing Wendy by her shirt and throwing her onto his shoulders, Wendy grabbing onto his shirt to not fall off.

"Fire!" Gothmog shouts as the archers release their arrows.

" **Roar of the Sky Dragon!"** Wendy yells releasing her roar attack into the air, turning her head at the same time as the tornado-like blast destroys many of the arrows with the wind coming off it knocking the rest off course. The act saving many Rohirrim's lives as the Rohirrim cry out triumphantly at this as even Theoden can't help but smile a little at seeing the power of the young Dragon Slayer.

"Dea~th!" Merry cries out again as the Orcs fire another volley of arrows.

" **Roar of the Sky Dragon!"** Wendy yells sending her attack out again and leading to the same results.

"Char~ge!" Theoden yells.

"Fire at will!" Gothmog yells again, a worried look in his eyes as the Rohirrim continue to get closer and his archers having yet to inflict even a single casualty onto them.

The Orc archers fire again, and once again their arrows are destroyed or knocked off course from Wendy's Sky Dragon Roar. If he was worried before, he was now completely terrified, and it showed on his face changing into the look of terror. The Rohirrim continued to roar in battle cries as they got closer and closer, the speed of which they were coming, and the looks that could kill in their eyes, were actually starting to terrify all of the Orcs as many of them even began backing up with a few actually running away. But that wouldn't save them, as then the Rohirrim collided into the Orc ranks, the speeds at which their horses were running and the Orcs ranks breaking up, allowing the Rohirrim to ram right into the pikemen and just trample right over them without taking a single lose. Orc bodies were sent flying, and others were trampled beneath the Rohirrim as the momentum continued to carry the soldiers of Rohan forward over more and more Orcs. Those that weren't trampled were cut down by the Rohirrim still coming in from the back, while a few soldiers even threw their spears or fired arrows.

Eowyn let out a battle cry as she and Merry's horse continued forward "Alright, lets go!" Gajeel yelled out as he and Wendy, who was back in front of him, and their horse continued going as well.

Gothmog from his position began backing up in terror along with many other Orcs around him, as the Rohirrim rammed right into more of their forces. Theoden cut one Orc down as his horse began losing momentum, but many others continued forward trampling or cutting down Orc after Orc, but there were still a lot more Orcs to go either way.

 _Back up in Minas Tirith…_

In the tomb of the past kings of Gondor, Denethor poured an urn of oil over his face, the oil drenching his entire body as well as that of Faramir who lied beneath him. Like what Pippin had said Denethor was about to burn both him and Faramir alive, even though Faramir flinched a little he was still unconscious, but Denethor did not seem to care as the way he saw it, the world of Men was finished, and it would be better to die now then die later.

"Set fire in our flesh." Denethor orders to his Citadel guards.

Closing his eyes and holding his arms outwards as an acceptance to the death, Denethor stands atop a pyre of wood, ready to burn with his last son as the four Citadel guards around him begin to approach the pyre ready to light it. Just as the first torch is about to touch the wood, the door to the room is blasted open by Shadowfax slamming it open with his hooves with Gandalf, and Pippin riding atop him and with Natsu and Lucy behind them as Denethor turns with a surprised look in his eyes.

"Stay this madness!" Gandalf yells making the Citadel guards stop in their tracks.

However Denethor grabs one of the Citadel guard's torch, as he holds it in his hand while looking at Gandalf. "You may triumph in the field of battle for a day...but against the power that has risen in the east, there is no victory." Denethor states, as he drops the torch. Lighting the wood on fire as Faramir's body flinches again.

The eyes of Pippin, Natsu, and Lucy widen in shock, as Gandalf quickly acts by grabbing a nearby Citadel guard's spear as he holds the blunt end forward and spurs Shadowfax towards the pyre. Swinging the spear Gandalf knocks Denethor off the pyre as Natsu and Lucy run up behind the two, Natsu leaps onto the pyre and quickly pushes Faramir off it. The oil on his body catching some of the fire though as Natsu quickly acts and begins sucking it up.

Denethor sits back up and cries out "No~!"

Natsu turns around and finds himself grabbed by the collar by Denethor "You will not take my son from me!" Denethor yells.

"Hey! Let go of me you crazy bastard!" Natsu yells, easily pushing Denethor's arms off him as he then kicks him back. Sending Denethor spinning around as he then finds himself facing a rearing back Shadowfax who slams his hooves into him, sending Denethor flying onto the pyre and immediately catching on fire. Lucy rushes over to Natsu as the two, along with Pippin, and Gandalf look down at Denethor who raises his head, but then stops.

His eyes come upon Faramir who seems to finally begin to regain consciousness, albeit still in a weakened state as he opens his eyes just a little. "Faramir…" Denethor whimpers, the madness over him seeming to subside, for the last time as a small smile appears on his face. Just before he begins screaming out in pain as the fire fully engulfs his body, throwing himself up Denethor then jumps off the pyre and begins running out of the tomb "So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion." Gandalf says with a tired look in his eyes. Denethor runs out of the tomb and begins running across the Citadel, as he then runs and falls off the very tip of the rock spur of the Citadel into the city below, as out in the fields the battle continues to rage between the Rohirrim and Orcs.

"You alright Natsu?" Lucy asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Natsu says, suddenly turning away from her as he walks over to the pyre. The Fire Dragon Slayer then sucks up the remaining fire and sighs "That oughta help." he says wiping his mouth.

"Hey, Gandalf. Think you can handle things while I'm gone?" Natsu asks.

"What are you talking about Natsu?" Gandalf questions.

"I got a score to settle." Natsu says turning towards the door and running off leaving the others behind perplexed.

"Natsu! Wait!" Lucy yells as she chases after him, not liking where this was going one bit.

Running to the tip of the Citadel, Natsu looked out into Pelennor fields to see the Rohirrim clashing with the Orcs. Looking into the sky he took notice of how it seemed the majority of the Nazgul had retreated, all except for one, the Witch-King who continued to circle high in the air for some reason. Natsu narrowed his eyes and prepared to jump when "Natsu!" and stopped himself.

Lucy ran up to him, out of breathe since she still hadn't fully recovered yet from all the fighting and magic she'd been using "Natsu, what are you doing?" she asked.

Natsu doesn't turn his head, considering what happened last time, and truth be told he still wasn't at full strength yet even after eating that fire, he knew that what he was about to tell Lucy, she wasn't going to like it, but he knew he had no choice. "Getting some payback, and at the same time finishing things. The Witch-King's our biggest threat right now, unless he's taken out this battle's not going to end."

"But Natsu, he's stronger than before. You barely survived your last encounter with him, even Gandalf couldn't seem to handle his magic. If we're gonna have any chance then we need to find-"

"Erza, and Gray aren't here. I can't pick their scent up. Don't know where they are but something must have happened for them, along with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli to not be here. I don't want to put Wendy in harm's way of dealing with him, and with what I'm hearing, the Rohirrim are going to need both her and Gajeel to face their new threat. And you haven't recovered yet, especially after that last attack you did. That leaves only me." Natsu says cutting her off. "So please Lucy, let me do this. Stay here and help Gandalf and Pippin while I deal with the Witch-King. I'm the only one who can stop him." Natsu says.

Suddenly Natsu feels Lucy slam into the back of his body as she wraps her arms around him "Natsu…" she says as the side of her head lies against his back, tears appearing in her eyes. "Please...don't go. I don't...I don't want to lose you…"

Natsu remains silent for a few seconds, the upper part of his face covered in shadows. Suddenly he grabs Lucy's hands and slowly removes them from his body, as he then turns around and looks down at Lucy who looks back up at him with tears going down her face. Natsu leans down and kisses Lucy softly on the lips for a few seconds before pulling back, a sincere smile coming to his face "Come on Lucy. You know me, I'll come back to you. I promise. And you know that when I make a promise, I keep to it." Natsu says.

Lowering her arms and turning back around, Natsu takes a few steps forward and then jumps off the Citadel, all the while Lucy continues to watch with tears going down her face, a small smile then appears "I know you will." she whispers. Still not liking that he was putting his life on the line, but still believing that he would keep to his word and come back to her, just like he always did.

* * *

In a turn of events, the Rohirrim actually seem to be winning! The Orcs are in complete disarray allowing the Rohirrim to continue to cut down Orc after Orc. Eomer grabs the pitchfork of one Orc and drives it into another, Theoden cuts down a few Orcs, even Eowyn and Merry are cutting down large groups of Orcs, the duo managing to cover each other's blind spot allowing no Orcs to reach them. Gajeel with both of his arms transformed into his Iron swords cuts down Orcs without breaking a sweat as well, and just like Eowyn and Merry, the combination of him and Wendy who was swinging her arms sending out small blasts of wind to send Orcs flying, allowed no Orcs to get even close to them.

It was at this point that the Orcs seemed to lose all their courage and began to retreat "Drive them to the river!" Eomer yells.

The Rohirrim immediately began giving chase "Make safe the city!" Theoden yells.

However before the Rohirrim can get far, they all come to a sudden stop with a look of shock and terror in their eyes. Theoden turns his head with a small smile thinking that just maybe they had won. But upon seeing the sight before him, that small disappeared, and the look on his face turned into one of shock and terror just like his men.

"What the hell…" Gajeel says in shock as he and Wendy take notice as well.

The Orcs were retreating alright, but it was a retreat to regroup with the arrival of their new reinforcements, the Haradrim. Off in the distance coming towards them through a large cloud of dust kicked up by them, was a long line of what looked like twenty Mumakil, on which the Haradrim rode on their wooden platforms. One of the Haradrim drivers who control the giant beasts from his saddle atop the head blows his horn as a signal to the Haradrim that it was time for battle as the Haradrim chanted out a battle cry in their language.

The sight of the giant monsters definitely had the Rohirrim in a state of fear and shock, as they knew that if they charged it would lead to massive casualties. The tusks of the Mumakil, the feet that could easily crush everything beneath it, the archers that could rain down arrows upon them, and what looked like the lead Mumakil, even having wooden barbed wires attached between its tusks. Everything about them screamed that they were ready to take on the horsemen and cause a lot of death, if not completely annihilate them. Around the Mumakil the Orcs continued to run past them.

Theoden looked on, but he knew that no matter what these things had to be taken down if they were to win this battle "Re-form the line! Re-form the line!" he yelled as the Rohirrim reformed their ranks. At the same time the Mumakil all let out a roar.

"Sound the charge! Take them head-on!" Theoden orders as Gamling blows his horn "Char~ge!" Theoden yells swinging his sword forward to signal the Rohirrim to attack.

The Rohirrim let out a battle cry and charge forward "Dammit, hang on kid. One, things are about to get a lot more bumpy, and two, this is not gonna end well." Gajeel says as he spurs his horse forward.

The Rohirrim charge towards the line of Mumakil, closing the distance as the Orcs all pass the massive beasts, the lead Mumakil swings its head to the left and then swings it back to the right, its tusks hitting a large group of Rohirrim and sending them and their horses flying. The Rohirrim collide into the Haradrim forces, the Mumakil however make quick work of many of the horsemen, swinging their tusks to send many of them flying while the unfortunate few who attempt to bypass the beasts beneath them are crushed under their massive feet. Many Rohirrim manage to get safely around the Mumakil while others change course and attempt to run another way around them or just run away from them in general, those that do run away from the lead Mumakil find themselves caught up by its barbed wooden wires between its tusks and literally plowed through.

The Rohirrim archers, as they pass the Mumakil begin unleashing their arrows onto the massive beasts as well as the Haradrim on the platforms, but things were quickly turning into a massacre. If it wasn't the beasts blowing them away with their tusks or stepping on them, it was the Haradrim shooting them down with their arrows. Nevertheless the Rohirrim continued to fight on but at the rate of which the Mumakil seemed able to take a massive beating from their arrows, taking down just one of them would take far too long and result in many more casualties to come. The most the Rohirrim archers could do quickly at the moment, was shoot down the Haradrim archers who could still be killed instantly as already many Haradrim were dropping like crazy on and off their platforms.

The lead Mumakil with what appeared to be the main leader of the Haradrim forces as its driver, was making quick and deadly work of many Rohirrim, sending them flying, smashing them beneath the fleet, or plowing through those in his path without a sweat. Some distance up ahead, Eomer comes to a stop and turns around facing this Mumakil. Beneath the Mumakil Eomer spotted Gamling and two other Rohirrim shooting their arrows up at its underbelly, that didn't last long however as the two Rohirrim on either side of him, one by one found themselves crushed beneath the rear feet of the Mumakil. Gamling firing one more shot before just focusing on trying to survive and get out alive.

"Cut him down!"

Eomer looked up at the Haradrim controlling the great beast, who seemed to notice him as well as Eomer lifted his spear up and with great force, lobbed it up towards the Haradrim leader. The spear striking the Haradrim right in the chest making him cry out as he fell off the Mumakil's head taking the rein with him, causing the rein to be pulled down hard on the Mumakil's left ear making the beast steer away and right into another Mumakil, slamming right into it and causing both beasts to go down along with the Haradrim on them.

Elsewhere on the battlefield Eowyn and Merry manage to successfully dodge many of the Mumakil they come across, missing both their tusks and feet while many other Rohirrim around them continue to be taken out as well as by the Haradrim archers. All the while the Orcs are once again back in the battle assisting the Haradrim with taking out the Rohirrim. "Take the reins. Pull him left!" Eowyn says to Merry as he listens to her.

Riding by an Orc that is just about to kill a knocked down Rohirrim, Eowyn manages to grab the Orcs sword saving the soldier who quickly recovers and takes out the Orc "Left!" she yells again as Merry pulls the reins to his left. The two barely dodge three more Mumakil as then they head towards another one, once again the tusks just barely missing them as it swings its head, upon reaching the front legs Eowyn swings both her and the Orcs sword outwards striking both of them. Eowyn then continues and strikes the back legs, bringing the Mumakil down.

" **Roar of the!"** Gajeel yells.

" **Roar of the!"** Wendy yells.

" **Iron/Sky Dragon!"** the two shout at the same time sending their respective attacks towards two different Mumakil, blasting them and the Haradrim on them away.

"Aim for the heads!" Eomer yells as he along with many more Rohirrim archers gang up on one Mumakil, hitting it with a massive barrage of arrows which seems to cause a lot of pain to the beast as it rears back onto its hind legs. Sending many of the Haradrim on the platforms falling and tumbling off it as many more try to hang on for their life.

"Bring it down! Bring it down! Bring it down!" Theoden yells as from behind the Mumakil Eowyn tosses a spear into its left hind leg.

The Mumakil falls onto its butt, the shake from its impact however frightens the horse tremendously causing Merry to accidentally fall off as then the horse falls onto its side taking Eowyn with it. As the Mumakil's head begins falling towards her, Eowyn quickly rolls out of the way in time just barely dodging it as the rest of the Mumakil's body hits the ground, the Haradrim that were still on the platform jumping off it to the ground.

"Merry!" Eowyn cries out when she realizes she can't find him.

"Grab the reins!" Gajeel says as he hands the reins to Wendy. Gajeel gets up on the saddle and launches himself towards another Mumakil **"Club of the Iron Dragon!"** he yells transforming his arm into a club as he extends it forward and slams it into the head of the Mumakil, sending it straight down into the ground.

"Gajeel-san!" Wendy yells.

Gajeel hears this and upon noticing the sound from his right, looks too late as he sees another Mumakil charging straight towards him with its head swung to the left "Shit!" he yells, unable to do anything while still in the air and as it was already too late. All Gajeel does is cover his face with his arms to brace for the impact as the right tusk of the Mumakil slams right into him, sending him flying as he cries out in pain "Gajeel-san!" Wendy yells again in shock.

Wendy lifts herself onto the horse and launches herself towards the side of the Mumakil's face, the driver of the Mumakil turns his head and notices Wendy, confused at first at the sight of a little girl in the middle of a battle until then **"Claw of the Sky Dragon!"** Wendy yells generating large winds from her right leg as she spins around in the air before slamming her foot into the side of the Mumakil's face. Sending the beast falling onto its side and all the Haradrim falling off the platform.

Meanwhile Theoden suddenly finds himself surrounded by a large group of Orcs and quickly begins cutting them down before they can overwhelm him. Seeing this from nearby Eowyn quickly rushes to the aid of her uncle, cutting one Orc down from behind and then another before it can fully react to her presence. Theoden slays another Orc as he then takes notice of Eowyn, or in his case an unknown Rohirrim as the Rohirrim cuts down another Orc. Theoden is a bit taken back by the size of the Rohirrim but quickly decides to ignore it upon seeing the soldier handling himself fine as he cuts down another Orc and gets back to the battle.

Merry meanwhile coughs from all the dust around him, the Hobbit having lost his helmet as he just barely missed being crushed by the Mumakil as he quickly grabs his sword and crawls out. Immediately though he is charged at by a Haradrim soldier, the man swinging his spear at Merry who ducks under it and drives his sword into the Haradrim killing him, before then blocking the sword of an Orc and taking it out too. Eowyn dodges another Orc and takes it out followed by two more Orcs in a single swipe. Merry takes down another Haradrim soldier as he turns around only to be grabbed by an Orc and lifted off the ground, causing Merry to swing his sword wildly at first until he gets a clear shot at the neck and slices it across there. The Orc falling to its knees as Merry stabs it a few more times until it finally releases its hold on him and falls over dead.

"Ah~ shit. Good thing Salamander and Ice Princess ain't here or they'd never let me getting hit by a stupid giant elephant down!" Gajeel says as he pushes himself off the ground back to his feet.

Two Haradrim and an Orc charge Gajeel from his left, and three Orcs from his right, clenching his fists together Gajeel creates three kunai in each hand that slide out between his fingers, as he throws them out at the attacking enemy soldiers striking and taking them all down in just a second. Another Haradrim sneaks up on Gajeel from behind, and once close enough swings his sword down onto Gajeel's head, only for the blade to break upon impact shocking the soldier. Gajeel turns around revealing his Scales of the Iron Dragon as he then proceeds to slam his head into the Haradrim sending him right to the ground.

"Gotta find the kid." Gajeel says as he runs off.

" **Crushing Fang of the Sky Dragon!"** Wendy yells swinging her claw-like attack, striking away three Haradrim and one Orc and sending them flying.

Two Orcs come at Wendy, one from both her sides as Wendy falls to the ground dodging the Orcs weapons, the Orcs look down only to be met by her **"Claw of the Sky Dragon!"** she yells swinging her legs up and striking the two Orcs with the winds generated from her feet.

Gothmog walks around the dead body of a Mumakil with a mace in his working hand, looking around the Orc lieutenant spots Wendy as she picks herself up from the ground. A grin comes to his face as the Orc thinks he has found an easy target to kill, the Orc begins creeping up on Wendy with his mace held high as Wendy seems to be unaware of the approaching Orc. Just as he reaches her and is about to swing his mace down, Wendy spins around **"Wing Attack of the Sky Dragon!"** she yells blasting the Orc with a large whirlwind generated from her arms and sending Gothmog flying into the air crying out in pain.

 _Meanwhile…_

Back at Minas Tirith as the battle on Pelennor field's rages on, the Orcs now run through much of the city unopposed. The Witch-King on his Fellbeast flies past one level of the city where on it a massive gathering of Orcs await for a lone attack troll to break through a small gate. The troll brings its massive hammer back and slams it into the gate again, on the other side are but a small group of the remaining Gondor soldiers who find themselves trapped inside a small courtyard, many men brace against the door to hold it while many more stand behind them with their weapons at the ready to give one last fight to the death if the Orcs break through.

Behind them are the wounded who cannot fight anymore, as well as Gandalf, Pippin, and Lucy, the former two who hold their swords at the ready while Lucy has the keys of both Loke and Cancer in her hand. While at this point her magic was dangerously low Lucy wasn't going to give up just yet and she was going to fight for as long as she could if those Orcs got through.

"I didn't think it would end this way." Pippin says looking at Gandalf, dirt and grime covering his tired looking face.

"End?" Gandalf questions with a slightly confused look in his eyes as he looks at the young Hobbit. "No the journey doesn't end here…" Lucy listens in as Gandalf continues "Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass. And then you see it."

When he doesn't say anything, Pippin asks "What, Gandalf? See what?"

"White shores...and beyond. A far green country, under a swift sunrise." Gandalf says as a smile comes to his face.

Hearing this, brings a smile to Pippin as well "Well...that isn't so bad."

"No." Gandalf quietly says shaking his head slowly with the smile still present "No it isn't."

Lucy lowers her head a little as a small smile comes to her face _"I wonder…"_ she says in her head. The images of her mother, her father, and then her future-self, flash through her mind _"I wonder if that's what they saw. And what they're living in now?"_

Wherever they were, Lucy knew that her mother and father were happy being together once again, and were most likely still watching over her even now. And her future-self, if she was with the Natsu of her own timeline again, and together just like she was with her Natsu, then she was most definitely living a great new life alongside him on this "new path" that Gandalf said.

" _I'll come back to you. I promise."_ those words echoed through her mind, as Lucy lifted up the locket Natsu gave to her and opened it up. Natsu, the Dragon, the Golden Key, her, _In this Story The Dragon PROTECTS His Princess_.

All the times they'd been together, their first meeting, all the times he was there for her, to protect her, to save her, to cheer her up in the darkest of time. To hurt those that harmed her. That night he proclaimed his love for her…

Lucy clenched her hands, after everything, after all the things the two had been through. She couldn't die now. Not now, not ever. After all, her new journey, had just begun. And she was going to see it through with **him** , to the very end of their lives!

The troll slammed the hammer against the door again. A determined look came to her face as she prepared herself for battle.

" **I'm all fired up."** she says to herself quietly.

As out on the field, Natsu had that same look of determination in his eyes as he casually walked through the battlefield. Two Mumakil charged towards the Fire Dragon Slayer as Natsu ignites both his arms on fire **"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"** he yells generating a long torrent of flames from his swinging arms, sending a spiraling blast of burning explosions at the two massive beasts taking them and the Haradrim on them out as the charred bodies of the Mumakil fall to the ground on either side of him.

Natsu comes to a stop in the middle of them "COME AND FACE ME! WITCH-KI~NG!" Natsu shouts out into the air.

* * *

 **Okay...so I did come across this article. Don't know if what was said on there was true or not, but according to Hiro Mashima himself, it appears that while he is done with the Fairy Tail magna, he himself is NOT done with the series yet! This is from the article**

 **After all, the creator has said he doesn't feel completely finished with the series. Mashima took to Twitter to tell fans he still has plans for the franchise. "Even though the original manga is ending," he wrote. "I don't think Fairy Tail is done just yet. I have a lot of plans, so please look forward to them."**

 **So to me, it sounds like he is taking a break from Fairy Tail to work on some new series. Now as to what these other plans are, who knows. Maybe some spin-offs (which I don't mind but please don't let it be just that), a sequel series perhaps that could wrap up some certain things we didn't get in the end? Or could the Anime ITSELF, continue past the Magna with Hiro helping out until he himself feels that it is completed? Or more Movies perhaps? Honestly who knows, but it is AWESOME knowing that Fairy Tail isn't quite done yet. The only thing is, again, if it's the Anime going past the Magna (which I have heard about happening before I think in other series? Could be wrong?) then hopefully that means we get the new and expanded stuff soon when the anime itself returns. Otherwise...the sad part, where most likely that means we'll have to wait for who knows how many years until we get any sort of actual continuation/conclusion of sorts to my, and many of your favorite characters of Fairy Tail!**

 **But until then, expect many of my future crossovers stories involving Fairy Tail going to another universe to be post-series, unless they need to be downtuned a little, like for this story for example. I mean cause, let's face it, they're OP as it is in this world, going Post-Series after everything they've been through, oh geez Sauron wouldn't have stood a chance at all nor any of his forces XD. So future Fairy Tail crossovers will vary between post-series, to pre one year timeskip depending the Universe of which they are transported to just as a heads up.**

 **But anyways...Q &A!**

To **Mr. 1000 -** I will expand the list to include the latest Neo-Heisei Riders. But I won't be bringing them all in right off the bat since then a lot of the first movie would be altered HEAVILY. Nope, but you'll have to wait and see what it is I got planned.

To **FlameDragonHime -** I don't remember, it's been a long time since I saw the episode in which that sort of thing was explained. So maybe it is based on what it is they're doing. Meaning yeah they could finish early and return, but it still might take a long time...depending.


	19. A Promise to Keep, the Rage of a Dragon!

The battle on Pelennor Fields continued to rage on, and unfortunately the Rohirrim were now getting decimated by the Mumakil. Even though quite a few had already been taken down at this point, there was still far too many remaining. And with the Orcs rejoining the fight there was even more enemy soldiers to deal with that it was impossible to focus on who to fight without getting attacked by the other.

"Rally to me! To me~!" Theoden yelled as he tried to rally his men.

Just then, an ear piercing screech roared through the air, making Theoden turn his head slowly as he spotted the Witch-King on his fellbeast flying towards him. The Rohirrim below in his path all cowered in fear at the approaching beast as Theoden seemed to be caught in some sort of terrified trance, only snapping out of it at the last second to cry out as the Fellbeast opened its mouth and caught the head of his horse in it. The Fellbeast planted its feet on the ground and swung the horse around, Eowyn watched this from nearby with shock in her eyes, as the Fellbeast released the horse sending it and Theoden tumbling across the ground until eventually coming to a stop. Theoden's horse now laid dead on top of him, while the King of Rohan found a lot of his bones broken from all the tumbling that he was unable to move except for his head and arms.

All around him the rest of his Rohirrim fled in a panic leaving just him at the mercy of the Witch-King as the Fellbeast inched its way towards him "Feast on his flesh." The Witch-King says to his fellbeast. Theoden, unable to do anything could only raise his arms as he prepared for the inevitable, until suddenly a lone Rohirrim got in between him and the Witch-King.

"I will kill you if you touch him." Eowyn states with anger in her voice.

"Do not come between the Nazgul and his prey." the Witch-King says.

The Fellbeast pulls its head back slightly, and then launches it forward snapping at Eowyn. Eowyn manages to dodge the teeth of the Fellbeast as she then strikes it in the neck, managing to cleave half-way through it, as another strike from her sword manages to fully decapitate the beast sending the head flying as the rest of the body flings itself around a little bit before finally toppling over and dying. Knowing the fight was far from over Eowyn grabs a nearby wooden shield and prepares to take on the Witch-King. From the corpse of his dead Fellbeast, the Witch-King stands up and slowly turns towards Eowyn, in his right hand was his broadsword, and in his left was a flail with a massive spiked mace head at the end of the chain.

Eowyn's eyes widened in shock at the menacing looking weapons, as with a screech the Witch-King swung its flail down at Eowyn who jumped to the left to dodge it. The massive mace head slammed into the ground kicking up the grass and dirt leaving a small path of destruction where the spikes landed before being pulled back. The Witch-King pulled the flail back and swung his body around with it, Eowyn quickly ducked down and then jumped to her left again as the Witch-King slammed it down towards her. The Witch-King repeated again pulling it off the ground into a swing and spinning around to try and strike her again as Eowyn repeated the process and ducked beneath it.

The Witch-King screeched at Eowyn and then tried swinging it upwards, the mace head just barely missing Eowyn's body as she backed up. Ducking again when the Witch-King swung it around again, the Witch-King this time swings it around a second time taking Eowyn by surprise as the flail impacts into her shield, breaking it to pieces and sending her faltering back onto a horse with her left arm now broken from the impact of the weapon.

Finding herself unable to move Eowyn could do nothing as the Witch-King walked over to her, dropping his flail and sheathing his sword away as he then grabbed her neck and began choking the life out of her "You fool." he says as he lifts her up. "No man can kill me...Die now." he says.

Suddenly from out of nowhere Merry sneaks up behind him and stabs the Witch-King in the back, causing the Witch-King to screech out in pain and drop Eowyn. Behind him Merry's sword disintegrates and he cries out in pain, holding his right arm as he falls backwards; Eowyn stands back up and removes her helmet revealing herself to the Witch-King "I am no man." she says. Eowyn lets out a battle cry as she brings her sword back and drives it right into the face of the Witch-King. A green swirl of energy comes out from the Witch-King's face, as suddenly the energy blasts Eowyn's sword from his face and her arm recoils back; Eowyn looks at it and collapses to her knees before then falling back to the ground as the Witch-King holds his hands to his face and stands back up, seemingly in pain.

The Witch-King growls under his breathe "You fool. You will pay for that!" the Witch-King says, grabbing his flail as he prepares to smash her face in. When "Witch-King!" the Witch-King turns his head in the direction the voice came from "Your fight is with me~!" Natsu cries out as his whole body is engulfed in fire and he is flying towards the Witch-King with his left fist pulled back.

The Witch-King can only look on as then in a second, Natsu throws his fist forward and slams it into the side of the Witch-King's face, sending the Lord of the Nazgul flying far back and crashing into the ground, sliding even further back and kicking up a lot of dust until finally he comes to a stop. As the dust clears however, the Witch-King stands right back up, the side of his helmet dented heavily from Natsu's punch as he feels it with his hand. The dent then seems to repair itself almost immediately, as the Witch-King turns his head to see Natsu steadily approaching him once again with a serious look in his eyes.

"Come to challenge me again, foolish mage." the Witch-King says with his weapons lowered to his sides.

"You got lucky last time is all. This time" Natsu slams his fist into his palm "I'm gonna smash that stupid helmet of yours and burn your little black robes till there's nothing left!"

"We shall see about that." the Witch-King says, the Witch-King quickly swings his flail at Natsu. Natsu however simply catches the mace head in his hand, seeming to surprise the Witch-King a little as he tilts his head slightly.

"Gonna have to do better than that." Natsu says, flinching his fist just a little as the mace head cracks and then breaks into pieces. With that weapon now useless the Witch-King discards the flail and holds his sword up in front of his face with both his armored hands. "In that case." the Witch-King says as suddenly, just like before the blade of the sword is engulfed in flames with the air around it swirling towards the tip and the screech of the Nazgul beginning to echo out from it.

Natsu gives a toothy-smirk and grunts "Not gonna work again!" he says. Natsu opens his mouth and immediately begins sucking in all the fire from the Witch-King's blade. This seems to work as the wind begins dying down around the blade and the screeching becomes quieter and quieter, until eventually all the flames from the Witch-Kings sword is sucked up by Natsu and the everything else dies down.

The Witch-King lowers his sword, for some reason looking like he was unfazed by this. "Don't know if you remember from that night I blew you away or not, but fire is **my** specialty. And my meal. So thanks for the-" suddenly Natsu feels a little bit of pain when his heart beats again. Making him stop as his eyes widened in shock, wondering if he just felt that or not. This time, a sharper strike of pain courses through his heart, as well as his entire body upon it beating again. Causing Natsu to clench his right hand over his heart as his breathing hitches up and he bends forward a little "W-What the hell? What...What is this?" Natsu questions clenching his teeth. Each time his heart beats, every time he breathed, even the slightest movement of his body caused a sharp pain that seemed to be increasing every second to go through his entire body, making the Fire Dragon Slayer unable to move as he placed both his hands over his heart and sweat began pouring down his face like crazy.

The Witch-King, his deep dark voice, begins chuckling quietly with Natsu still hearing him however, and yet that may have been the point "You fool. Of course I remember back to that night. Which is why, I knew you would be foolish enough to eat the flames of my sword once I used it. The flames of the Nazgul which like us, and our Morgul blades, is embedded with dark magic and thus poisonous to all who are touched by it. And with the amount you just consumed, you won't even survive through the night." the Witch-King says, all the while Natsu continues to writhe in pain as he attempts to move to continue the fight.

" **This** is the power of the Dark Lord Sauron. No one, not even some pathetic mages, especially some children, can challenge it. All who do, will die a painful death." the Witch-King says as he walks up to Natsu. Natsu looks up at him with his left eye winced close, as then the Witch-King backhands Natsu across the face sending him flying back to the ground a few feet away. Normally such a thing would not have hurt much, but with the pain the poison from the dark magic was sending through his body, made Natsu cry out in absolute pain as he cried out into the air.

 _Meanwhile…_

At a nearby dock area not that far away from the battlefield, a small detachment of Orcs stand waiting for something, or more precisely, someone. As then the black ships of the Corsairs finally pull up to the port "Late as usual, pirate scum!" the Orc with a skull on his head yells out as he makes his way through the rest of the Orcs to the front. "There's knife work here that needs doing." he finishes reaching the front.

"Come on you sea rats! Get off your ships!"

However, instead of the Corsairs, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Erza, and Gray, are the ones to vault over the side of the ship, landing on the ground as Aragorn stands in the center of the group with Legolas, and Gimli to his left, and Erza, and Gray on his right. This definitely takes the Orcs by surprise, however upon noticing that there was only five of them the Orcs surprised looks turn into grins as they believe they can take them on since they have the numbers. Of course Aragorn and the others remain unfazed by the numbers as they begin walking towards them, Aragorn lifting up his sword as Erza requips a sword into her right hand and Gray readies a spell. "There's plenty for the both of us, may the best Dwarf win." Gimli says.

As from behind the group the Army of the Dead comes charging out right through the boats, Aragorn and the others charge forward ahead of them as Aragorn lets out a battle cry. The sight of the Army of the Dead terrifies the Orcs as they begin backing up, one Orc attempts to attack Aragorn but is quickly taken out by him as the Dead begin making quick work of the Orcs. From the rest of the ships more dead soldiers, many of them on dead horses, rush through the water with ease and join the rush towards Pelennor fields, the King of the Dead among them as he and his men finish off the rest of the Orcs in the port.

Natsu continued to lay on the ground clenching his heart with the absolute, horrible pain the poison was causing to his body coursing through him. His breathing hitched and sweat pouring down his face. The Witch-King walked over to him and looked down "As much as I would enjoy ending your pathetic life right now, it would satisfy me more knowing that your death was long, and painful. Especially, painful." the Witch-King says, as he suddenly drives his sword right into the center of Natsu's chest, making the Fire Dragon Slayer cry out in even more unbearable pain.

The Witch-King pulled his sword out from Natsu's chest, blood immediately began seeping out through the open wound, also covering most of the tip of the blade "Do not worry. Your friends will be joining you in death soon enough." the Witch-King says as he begins walking away.

Natsu can do nothing, every inch of his body was in pain, the dark magic had at this point sapped most of his strength away, all he could do now was look up at the dark clouds that covered the skies over Minas Tirith and listen to the sounds of battle around him.

" _Dammit! Is this really how I go out? Come on, after everything I've been through, all those other assholes I beat up, and_ _ **this guy**_ _is seriously going to be the one to do me in?! Come on Natsu, get up! Get up and fight!"_ Natsu yells to himself in his head. However no matter what he did, even the slightest movement of his body sent sharp pains blasting throughout his whole body, making him clench his teeth from the pain as at this point he had even lost his voice to cry out in pain with.

" _Fuck! Dammit, dammit, dammi~t!"_

Suddenly images of his friends began flashing through his head. Everyone at Fairy Tail from Master Makarov, to the Strauss Siblings, the Thunder God Tribe, Team Shadow Gear, everyone, eventually he sees images of Gray and Gajeel, Happy, Lily, and Carla, Wendy and Erza, Igneel, and then finally a smiling Lucy as the last words he said to her come to his mind _**"I'll come back to you. I promise. And you know that when I make a promise, I keep to it."**_

Were those going to be his last words to her? A promise that he can no longer keep?! As Natsu continued to look up at the sky, suddenly the world he saw began to get blurry, and he found himself beginning to lose consciousness.

" _Is this...Is this really it?"_ Natsu found all his strength beginning to leave him, and the world around him begin to darken out. _"Lucy…"_ a single tear traveled down the side of his face from his right eye _"I'm sorry…"_ Natsu says as everything around him goes black and he closes his eyes.

" **Natsu! Time for more lessons!"**

 _Flashback…_

"Alright!" a young Natsu Dragneel shouted out in joy "What are we gonna learn today?! I almost got that Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon move down, lets do that so I can finally master it! Or, wait, how about that Roar of the Fire Dragon?! Or maybe-"

"Natsu!" the King of the Fire Dragon's, as well as Natsu's adopted father, Igneel says calming down his hyperactive foster son. The massive Dragon stood crouched on his hind legs with his forelegs crossed like normal arms as he looked down at Natsu. "We're gonna be taking a break from magic lessons today to focus more on Human studies." Igneel says.

"Huh~, but that stuff's super boring! I want to learn how to kick some more ass and burn stuff up!" Natsu complains.

"Yes, yes, while knowing how to fight and use your magic is important. So is learning on how to be human for the day you have to start walking amongst your own kind again. Otherwise you won't be able to make it out there in the world." Igneel says.

"Dah~ fine! But maybe afterwards we can get back to the fun stuff?" Natsu asks.

"If you pay attention and don't doze off, I suppose I can take you on another hunt." Igneel says.

"Yeah!" Natsu yells in joy as he sits himself down.

Igneel clears his throat "Now then, today's lesson is going to be a, well a bit difficult to fully understand completely." Igneel begins "Then again everything usually is for you." Igneel says annoying Natsu a little as he shouts "Hey!"

Igneel ignores this however already used to it, plus he enjoyed teasing Natsu anyways since he was so easy to set off "But for this particular lesson, well let's just say I can talk to you about it but can't really help in showing any examples or something to explain it better."

"Huh?" Natsu says really confused almost immediately by what he was rambling on about.

"To put it simple this lesson is more of a, learning experience from yourself instead of me teaching you like usual. Unlike writing, or any other one of the things I've taught you in the past, what I'm about to give you a lesson on is something I cannot just draw up simply, but something you'll have to learn more first-hand about by yourself. The most I can teach you, is just the basics of it." Igneel says.

"Whatever, can you just get on with it already!" Natsu says looking annoyed with his arms crossed.

"Now then, do you remember what the word love is?" Igneel asks.

"Yeah? It's when you care for someone right, like how I care for you as my dad!" Natsu says with a massive toothy-smile on his face.

Igneel can't help but chuckle at this "Yes well. That is right, but as I've said before some words have multiple meanings to them. Such as that word. The meanings can all sound very similar to each other, but depending on the person you're saying the word to, it can have a more vastly, and deeper meaning then when you say it to another person." Igneel says.

"Really? How so?" Natsu asks.

"Well, for example when you say that you love me, the meaning behind that is more for because of the fact that we're a family. I'm your father, you're my son. Saying love to a family member shows you care for them, that you're right on. However. Should you use the word love to a stranger of the opposite sex, that, is where things change drastically." Igneel answers.

"Opposite sex? You mean a...what was it? A Female?" Natsu asks.

"Correct. In life, no matter what species you are, there are always males, and females. Now when you use the word love on a female that is not part of your family, the word's meaning changes completely. You're still saying you care for them, but, more deeply, more on a romantic side of things if you remember that word correctly." Igneel says.

"Romantic?" Natsu says trying to think back to what the word meant again.

Igneel facepalms over his eyes "Like in those romance novels you hate so much where the prince gets the princess?" Igneel says.

"What?! Ew~ I hate those stupid books! Why is it they always make the dragons the bad guys?!" Natsu questions.

"That's not the point Natsu. The things you read of how the Prince feels for the Princess when they first meet, that is what I'm talking about." Igneel says.

"Even more disgusting, you mean when they kiss and all those stupid mushy feelings come out about how much he cares for her and everything?" Natsu asks.

"Yes, that is what love is when it comes to a male liking a female a lot more than any other female." Igneel says.

"That sounds nasty, all those mushy feelings and stuff. Seriously how is this important?" Natsu asks.

"Because it is a natural thing that all living things of this planet go through. You may not like it now, but sometime in the future when you find yourself a female that you begin liking more and more over every other female around you, that is what love is. And from there it leads to a new journey, one full of a new life and happiness that you will never find anywhere else." Igneel says.

Natsu however seems to just ignore this, still finding it a bit stupid and disgusting, but that doesn't stop him from asking "What about you dad? Did you ever feel "love" for a female dragon?" Natsu asks.

"As a matter of fact I did, a long time ago. But how love works between Dragons and Humans is different from one another so there's no need to tell you about it." Igneel says _"Plus there's the other stuff a young boy like him doesn't need to be hearing about, nor explaining…"_ Igneel says in his head turning his eyes away from Natsu.

"Nevertheless Natsu, you say now that love is a disgusting thing you will never want to experience. But I'm telling you now, one day, you will find someone out there that you will come to care deeply about over everyone else. And when that time comes, your mind may not know it, and may even try to resent it like you are now." Igneel leans forward and places his finger on Natsu's chest "But your heart will know. And you'll learn that love, isn't as bad as you think."

 _Flashforward…_

" _Thanks a lot. I'm Lucy, nice to meet you!"_ Lucy says introducing herself to Natsu for the first time.

" _But. I still want to be in the guild...I love Fairy Tail!"_ Lucy cries after Natsu rescues her from Phantom Lord.

" _Running away by myself? No way. It's always more fun when we're together."_ Lucy says, even when she is heavily beaten up by the Dark Mage Kain of Grimoire Heart and her head is held in his massive hand about to get crushed.

" _What's wrong, Lucy?"_ Natsu asks as the battle against the Dragons had finally come to an end, and suddenly Lucy had run up behind him and was now hugging him tightly. _"Nothing. Just a feeling...Thank you."_ she replies with her face in his back as he continues to look down.

" _Never again...will I let anything happen to you...Lucy Heartfilia...my partner...my best friend...the girl I love."_ those words, those words that he said when he finally revealed how he felt for her, played over the moment that he and Lucy shared their first kiss with each other.

" _ **Natsu…"**_

Natsu's eyes shoot open.

 _ **(Insert Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer OST)**_

The Witch-King continues walking away, until suddenly "Not yet." the Witch-King stops in his tracks and turns his head slightly, looking out of the corner of his eyes to see much to his shock, even though it could not be seen, that Natsu was moving again. The Fire Dragon Slayer rolling onto his hands and knees as he began trying to pick himself up.

"I can't die here. Not now, not ever." Natsu says as the pain still coursing through his body, however he fights it off, not caring how much pain there was going through him. That pain would not even compare to the amount of pain Lucy would be going through if he died here, and that was something Natsu was **NOT** going to stand for!

"They're waiting for me." flashes of Makarov and his friends back at the guild go through his head "They're waiting for us. To come home. Every, single, one of us." Happy, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Gray, Gajeel, and Lily flash through his mind. "And more importantly, **she** is waiting for me." Natsu begins getting back up onto his feet as the Witch-King turns to face him.

"I made a promise to her. A promise that I would return. Because once we're done here, we're going to go on more, and more adventures, like we always have been since that day we met! And we're going to continue to do so, until the day we both die. And no one, not you, not Sauron, not some dark mage guild...no one! Is going to stop us! After everything we've been through, the pain of leaving her behind, is much more than the pain coursing through my body now. Because if I leave her behind, she's gonna cry, and be in pain, and I can't stand her crying and being in pain! If she's gonna cry, I'm gonna be there to cheer her up and wipe those cheers away, if she's gonna be in pain, I'm gonna be there to beat the bastard that caused her pain!" Natsu stands on his feet, his face still covered in shadow.

"No matter what happens, I'll always be there, by her side, because that's where I belong. Which is why I made a promise to her. I promised her that I would return, no matter what!" Natsu continues with his teeth clenched angrily.

An image of Lucy smiling at him flashes in his head, as he can hear her voice calling out to him in her usual kind, and caring tone **"Natsu!"**

 _ **(End Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer OST)**_

 _ **(Insert Fairy Tail 2014 Main Theme)**_

" **And I intend to keep i~t!"** Natsu cries out at the top of his lungs into the air as suddenly a massive pillar of fire erupts from his body, expanding outwards a few feet. The fire shoots straight up into the sky, breaking through the dark clouds and causing them to disperse far and wide. The sudden appearance, the size of it, as well as its brightness as the fire appears to now be golden, causes nearly all fighters on Pelennor Fields, and inside Minas Tirith to stop and stare at this never before seen occurrence.

"That fire…" Gajeel says in shock, but nevertheless recognizes it.

"Natsu-san?" Wendy questions.

Eomer, Gamling, Eowyn, Merry, Theoden who is just barely holding on, Legolas, Gimli, all of them look on in shock and awe, all of them seemingly knowing however, who is the one producing such a monstrosity of a flame.

"Golden fire?" Aragorn questions.

"I've seen that fire before." Erza says with wide eyes near Aragorn.

"Damn, who the hell pissed flame head off?" Gray questions with a small sweatdrop on the side of his head.

From inside Minas Tirith the Orcs, and the soldiers of Gondor look up at the fire. "Gandalf…" Pippin says.

"Golden fire? I've never seen such a thing, and yet. The amount of power I can feel radiating off it, is unlike anything I have ever felt before." Gandalf says, even he was in shock and awe at the sight of this.

Lucy meanwhile looked up in awe at first, before then a small smile came to her face, and a single tear appeared in her right eye "Natsu…" she says, just by seeing that she knew that he was still alive, and most likely about to give the Witch-King one hell of a beating.

In fact, the fire could be seen for MILES all around Middle-Earth. From Edoras where the people of Rohan stood in complete awe at seeing such a sight, the Ents at Isengard, to the Elves of Lothlorien where Haldir, Celeborn, and Galadriel watched "What immense power that young man possesses." Haldir says as a smile covers Galadriel's face. Even to Rivendell where Elrond watched this from his room, behind him was a dying Arwen who was still unconscious.

Not to mention from Mordor, where all the Orcs near Mount Doom couldn't help but cower a little from the sight of such a thing, knowing full well that it wasn't the Witch-King or any of their own forces causing that. The Eye of Sauron watched this fire intently. Wherever they were in Mordor, even Sam, and the Exceeds caught sight of the massive pillar of golden fire shooting into the sky.

"What is that?!" Sam questions in absolute shock and awe.

"Golden fire?" Lily says.

"It couldn't be." Carla says.

"It's Natsu! No doubt about it!" Happy says in absolute joy "Go get them, Natsu!" Happy cheers.

The battle has resumed around him, as the Witch-King covers his face from the intense brightness of the fire, eventually moving his arm down, the Witch-King was met with the sight of suddenly seeing dark red dragon scales appearing on Natsu's forehead and cheeks. Small patches of dragon scales even appeared on his arms and fists with even his canines becoming sharper and elongated, all the traits of a dragon. "What is this power?!" the Witch-King questions.

Just then, if his eyes could be seen they would be widening in absolute shock and terror at what he was now seeing before him. Natsu raised his head forward and let out a resounding battle cry, the battle cry however sounding more like a dragon roar, as in the Witch-King's eyes. The Witch-King could swear that standing above Natsu, was a giant dark red scaled Dragon, the same colored scales as what was on Natsu's skin as the Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes glowed red and were narrowed with a look of absolute anger in them.

"This cannot be~!" the Witch-King says, as he takes a step back out of absolute terror.

Suddenly in just the blink of an eye, Natsu is now right in front of the Witch-King with his left fist pulled back "You better believe it!" Natsu shouts as he throws a golden, flaming uppercut into the Witch-King. The immense power behind it sending the Witch-King flying upwards into the air screeching out in pain.

" **Dragon Slayer's Secret Art! Hidden Fire Form! Crimson Lotus Phoenix Blade!"** Natsu yells out as he blasts himself up towards the Witch-King, his entire body still engulfed in golden flames as he leaves a long wake of those flames behind him. Natsu then slams his head right into the stomach of the Witch-King, propelling both of them even higher into the sky as the golden flames now surround the Witch-King.

"As long as Fairy Tail is here, Sauron will not take Middle-Earth. And as long as I live, no one will ever take me away from Lucy!"

The Witch-King screeches out in absolute pain as the fire fully engulfs him, and a massive explosion erupts high in the sky.

 _ **(End Fairy Tail 2014 Main Theme)**_

The explosion dies down leaving nothing but a large cloud of smoke, as suddenly from the smoke a single body can be seen falling out from it. The smoke falls back down to the earth and effortlessly lands back on the ground, the smoke clears away revealing the tattered and beaten up Natsu, his right hand on the ground as he kneels down on one knee. Around him a few tattered up pieces of the Witch-King's robe float down to the ground, and then the crumpled up remains of the helmet itself crashes to the ground just a few feet away. Natsu stands back up with a serious look in his eyes, the battle around him continues on as he can pick up the scents of Aragorn, Erza, and the others now being here, and most likely being the cause behind those green...ghost people?

Natsu grunts as he gives a toothy-smile "Leaving the rest up to you guys." Natsu says.

As suddenly he begins falling backwards to the ground _"Lucy...See you soon."_ he says in his head, hitting the ground and passing out from a combination of the pain of the poison, which for some reason has now disappeared from his body, as well as the overuse of his magic. As Natsu sleeps on the ground, unknown to him the stab wound in his chest suddenly bursts into flames and somehow seals itself right back up. The wound no longer there as it looked like he was never stabbed in the first place.

* * *

"Fifteen! Sixteen!" Legolas continues to count as he shoots down Orc after Orc.

"Seventeen!" Gimli yells throwing one of his axes at another Orc, as in front of him Aragorn proceeds to cut down Orc after Orc. Around them the Orcs are now in full retreat due to the Army of the Dead now cutting them to pieces while the Orcs are unable to do anything to stop them. Stabbing an orc Aragorn kicks it off his sword and swings it to his right to block another orcs sword and then slash it. Cutting another Orc down Aragorn turns around knocking another Orcs sword away as he then punches it across the face, swinging his sword to the right he cuts down two more Orcs in a single swipe and then brings it back and down to take another one out.

Erza blocks an Orcs blade with one of her swords and then uses the other to cut its arm off, allowing her to then drive both of her swords into its chest as she kicks it off her blades.

" **Ice Make Ice Cannon!"** Gray yells creating an ice cannon over his shoulder as he fires a large chunk of ice from it, the shot impacting in the middle of a group of enemy soldiers sending them flying. **"Ice Make Crescent Blades!"** he yells now creating a barrage of crescent shaped ice projectiles, sending them flying towards more enemy soldiers and taking them out.

" **Requip!"** Erza yells requipping into her Flight Armor as she then dashes through the battlefield in bright flash of light cutting down many enemy soldiers before coming to a stop.

"Legolas!" Aragorn suddenly yells.

Turning around Legolas suddenly finds a Mumakil coming right towards him. Undaunted by it however, he bravely charges forward and manages to effortlessly jump onto its left tusk, running up it a few meters before launching himself onto its front leg, using the arrows stuck to it to grab on as he then launches himself onto the back leg and begins climbing up it, once again utilizing the Rohirrim's arrows. Eventually he manages to reach the top and begins shooting the Haradrim "Thirty-three, thirty-four." the Haradrim take notice of him and begin trying to shoot him down.

One Haradrim jumps off the platform but is immediately shot by Legolas as his body falls to the ground, another jumps off planting his spear into the Mumakil to hold himself onto it but Legolas uses this against him as he grabs the spear and throws it, and the Haradrim soldier off into the sea of Dead soldiers below. Another Haradrim just launches himself at Legolas hoping to drive his spear through the elf archer, but a quick dive forward and holding his leg out causes the Haradrim to trip upon landing and fall off.

Legolas grabs a nearby dangling rope and jumps down to the Mumakil's side, after some difficulty of both hanging on and trying to grab one of his daggers, Legolas manages to finally grab one of them as he proceeds to cut the rope holding the platform on the Mumakil. Sending the platform falling over and off the Mumakil as Legolas uses this to pull himself back up onto the back of the creature, just as the platform crashes onto the ground below with the Haradrim onboard with it. Looking back forward Legolas takes a few steps towards the Mumakil's head and draws three arrows, pulling them back on his bow he sends all three into the Mumakil's skull causing the beast to roar out in pain before falling forward, its body sliding a few feet as Legolas jumps onto its trunk and slides down it back to the ground before it goes onto its side dead.

Upon reaching the ground Legolas tilts his head, in front of him was Gimli who looked at him annoyed by this act "That still only counts as one!" Gimli states.

Legolas turns his head to the left and Gimli follows it. Erza requips into her Purgatory armor and launches herself up into the air, letting out a battle cry as she brings her massive mace down onto the platform of a Mumakil as all that is seen and heard is an eruption of dust into the air and the Mumakil crying out in pain as it is forcefully slammed to the ground, and the cries of pain from the Haradrim that were still on the platform.

" **Ice Make Ice Geyser!"** Gray yells creating a massive tower of spiked ice that impales two more Mumakil and destroys their platforms sending the Haradrim on them flying into the air.

Legolas looks back at Gimli, definitely annoyed now that he was unable to do anything close to what Legolas or any of the others were doing as he growls in anger and walks off "Come on then. Come on!" he yells swinging his battle axe to take down two more Orcs.

Aragorn swings his sword cutting down another Orc and then another to his right. Pulling his arm back Aragorn finds an orc grabbing it as he manages to spin around and grapple the Orc around its neck, with a quick and strong pull Aragorn snaps the Orcs neck.

And just like that no more Orcs surround him as he looks around to see the full force of Mordor in retreat, both Orcs, and Haradrim alike, nevertheless the Army of the Dead give chase and begin taking them all down with the surviving Rohirrim coming to a halt on their attacks seeing the Dead finishing up. The Army of the Dead at the same time begins making its way through Minas Tirith finishing off all the Orc and Easterling forces still inside the city.

A loud grunt from behind catches Gray and Erza's attention as they turn to see another Orc fall, revealing Gajeel with his scales still on and both his arms transformed into swords "I was wondering who brought those green guys along?" Gajeel says transforming his body back to normal as he walks over to the two.

Erza then notices something and looks around "Where's Wendy?" she asks.

Suddenly a massive tornado-like blast blowing away one of the retreating Mumakil nearby catches their attention "Over there." Gajeel points out. Nevertheless, Erza walks over and immediately punches him in the back of the head making him yelp out in pain "Ow! What'd you do that for?!"

"For losing Wendy! Did you even try to regroup with her?" Erza asks.

"Of course I did I ain't that dumb! But it's kind of hard to do that when you have Orcs and giant elephants all over the damn place trying to kill you!" Gajeel says.

"Erza-san! Gray-san! Gajeel-san!" the three turn upon hearing Wendy's voice as they see her running towards them.

"Wendy!" Erza and Gray say glad to see she's okay as the three begin running over to her.

Nearby, Eowyn who was still in pain from the Witch-King's attack, as well as whatever happened to her body after stabbing him, crawled over to where her uncle was. Theoden still lying on the ground with his horse on him, his eyes closed until Eowyn crawled up and look down at him as he opened them, albeit weakly. Upon seeing Eowyn's face, he was surprised and at a loss for words, wondering if what he was seeing was actually true or not as he brought his fingers to her face to caress it as she placed a hand on his head and looked down at him with a smile.

"I know your face...Eowyn." Theoden says, even his voice sounded weak as a small smile appeared on his face. "My eyes darken." he says.

"No...No…" Eowyn says, believing he would be alright in no time after some healing and rest "I'm going to save you."

"You already did...Eowyn...my body is broken." Eowyn's smile disappears as she continues to look down, not wanting to accept it but knowing that, he wasn't going to make it "You have to let me go." Eowyn slowly shakes her head "I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company, I shall not now feel ashamed." Eowyn's eyes began turning red as the shieldmaiden of Rohan found herself on the edge of tears.

"Eowyn…" Theoden says. But then says no more as his body and eyes become lifeless.

Tears begin dropping down from her eyes, as Eowyn leans down and embraces her dead uncle and begins crying into his chest.

 _Sometime Later…_

From the air, pillars of smoke rise from both Pelennor and Minas Tirith as thousands of bodies now litter the field, along with the remains of Mordor's siege equipment and war beasts. Gandalf now walks on the remains of Pelennor through the sea of dead bodies and weapons eventually coming to a stop as Pippin appears from behind him along with Lucy.

"Release us." the King of the Dead says, as he and his army are gathered before Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Wendy.

Aragorn lets out a deep breathe, Wendy can't help but cower a little behind Erza due to how scary the ghosts looked to her. "Bad idea." Gimli says speaking up "Very handy in a tight spot these lads, despite the fact they're dead."

"You gave us your word." the King of the Dead states angered by the Dwarf's remark.

Aragorn remains silent for a few seconds "I hold your oath fulfilled. Go. Be at peace." Aragorn says.

A peaceful smile comes to the King of the Dead's face as he begins sighing in a satisfied manner, the wind picking up as then both the King and the Army of the Dead, are seemingly blown away to finally be at rest. Aragorn turns and takes notice of Gandalf, who bows his head forward as the wizard seems to know that Aragorn has accepted his role to become King, as Aragorn then smiles back at him and nods his head.

Lucy and Wendy run up and hug each other, glad to see that the other was okay as the others come up behind Wendy with smiles on their faces, except for Gajeel who smirks. Pulling away from the hug Lucy looks at the rest of her friends with a smile, but upon looking at all of them her smile disappears realizing something "Where's Natsu?" Lucy asks.

"We thought he was with you?" Gray questions as all their eyes widen in shock.

"Did you two get separated or something?" Erza asks.

"I remained in Minas Tirith to help Gandalf and Pippin with the defenses while he came out here sometime after the Rohirrim arrived to help out in the battle." Lucy says as she begins looking around in a panic.

"That fire would've been a good signal to where he was but it's not like I was able to pinpoint where it came from." Gajeel says as he and the others begin looking around as well.

"I can't pick up his scent, there's too many dead bodies to pick it up accurately." Wendy says.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouts out hoping for a reply, but there was nothing.

"Everyone spread out and find him!" Erza says as with haste the Fairy Tail mages disperse to find the Fire Dragon Slayer.

At the same time, the surviving Rohirrim, which was not very much, were on a search themselves for any wounded that could be on the field. However the hope of finding many wounded was all but none due to how deadly this fight was, if there was going to be any, it would be but a few, and many of them would probably not be able to be saved anyway. But the chance at saving what comrades they could, even when battered and all but exhausted from the long fight, kept the Rohirrim from giving up on the small hope that existed.

Pippin himself was walking around, mostly though just looking at the carnage of the aftermath of this massive battle. That is until something caught his attention on the ground nearby. Walking over to a group of dead Rohirrim in the middle of them was a familiar looking cloak, grabbing it Pippin immediately found the elven brooch from Lothlorien attached to it signifying that this was an elven cloak, and due to its size it could only be worn by a Hobbit.

 _ **(Insert The Houses Of Healing (feat. Liv Tyler))**_

"Merry…" Pippin says realizing that Merry was here. He had fought in the battle and since he hadn't seen him yet, that could only mean that he was either injured, or...Pippin looked around and immediately walked off to try and find his friend.

"NO~!" Eomer cried out, throwing his helmet and sword aside he ran over to the body of his sister Eowyn who laid on the ground as he got down on his knees and picked her up. "NO~!" he cried out again. Aragorn with sadness in his eyes and Gandalf watched from nearby as he cradled the body of his sister in his arms and whimpered, she was not moving making him fear that she was dead.

 _Later that Night…_

All the wounded that could be found were gathered at the House of Healing inside Minas Tirith, Aragorn walked through the place until he finally spotted who he was looking for, Eowyn as she still laid motionless with Eomer sitting on a stool next to her hoping that she would still awaken. Aragorn walked up the small steps to her as he knelt down and looked at her left arm, the arm's skin was pale with dark marks covering it, a sign of the effects of the Black Breathe of the Nazgul. Luckily, Aragorn noticed that it hadn't affected the rest of her body yet, and with some quick healing she could be saved.

Aragorn called over Wendy, the young Dragon Slayer having of offered her services to help the healers take care of the soldiers wounds, though with her magic of course which proved much more effective in saving many lives, even those who looked like they wouldn't make it. The Sky Dragon Slayer made her way up to Aragorn and Eomer, and immediately got to work using her healing magic on Eowyn's arm. After a few tense minutes, the color of her skin returned to normal and the dark marks disappeared, as then Eowyn began breathing once again making Aragorn place his hand on her face to caress it. She finally opened her eyes not that long after.

 _ **(End The Houses Of Healing (feat. Liv Tyler))**_

Back out on Pelennor a few Rohirrim still looked for any wounded that still may be alive, while at the same time working on burning the bodies of their dead enemies. While not many were found, there were still quite a large number of wounded to be found, and with help from Wendy and the healers of Minas Tirith many of them would be making a short recovery soon.

"Merry!" Pippin's voice called out. Pippin continued the search for his friend "Merry!" he shouted again as he walked and stopped by the body of a dead Mumakil. Looking around Pippin turned towards the dead Mumakil, and then spotted something beneath the body of a dead Orc as he quickly rushed over and pushed the Orc off, revealing Merry beneath it as Pippin dropped to his knees.

"Merry." he says picking Merry up and turning his body to face him "Merry it's me." Merry's eyes weakly open up as he looks up at him "It's Pippin." Pippin whimpers.

Merry seems to be at a loss for words for a few seconds, before finally speaking up "I knew you'd find me."

"Yes." Pippin replies carefully setting him back on the ground "Are you going to leave me?" Merry asks.

"No Merry...I'm going to look after you." Pippin replies, looking around he spots a nearby cloak and uses it to cover Merry to help warm him up since his pale body meant that he was cold, especially considering the night breeze flowing through the air.

Pippin wasn't the only one searching for a lost friend.

Lucy shivered a bit due to the cold night air blowing around, but that didn't stop her. With so many wounded Rohirrim being found, Erza and the others had to reluctantly give up looking for Natsu and help the survivors take their wounded to the House of Healing to be cared for.

" _You can keep searching for him Lucy. But these wounded also need to be tended to and quickly."_ Erza says before she and Wendy walk off.

Gajeel and Gray follow after them, but Gray stops and puts a hand on Lucy's shoulder _"We're all scared for him Lucy. But you should know how tough the dumbass is, he can take a hit and shrug it off, and if that fire's anything to go by he probably just used up to much magic and passed out. These guys on the other hand aren't as tough as him, and if we don't help out a lot of them aren't gonna make it. Just don't overexert yourself looking for him, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want you doing that to yourself."_ Gray says as he walks off.

Except it was a given, if Natsu was in her position right now, you could bet he'd stay up through the whole night searching for her until he found her. And if he wouldn't give up, then she wouldn't either. And thus Lucy continued walking through the field, cold, exhausted from all the fighting and magic used, it didn't matter, all that matter at this moment was finding Natsu.

"Come on Natsu...where are you…" Lucy says coming to a stop and looking around.

Problem was, finding one specific person in all this was literally taking the saying of finding a needle in the haystack to reality. There were so many bodies everywhere, worse were the Mumakil bodies if by some chance one of them fell on top of him…

Lucy continued scanning across the battlefield, one sign was all it took, pink hair, a shoulder with a red Fairy Tail tattoo on it. Finally, she spotted it, a familiar white scaly scarf lying on top the body of a dead horse. Lucy sprinted off as fast as she could go, running around the horse she finally came upon Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer lying next to the horse motionless "Natsu!" Lucy cries out as she runs over to his side and falls to her knees.

Picking him up Lucy begins crying out his name repeatedly with tears swelling up in her eyes "Natsu! Natsu! Natsu please! Natsu, open your eyes!"

Natsu doesn't make even the slightest movement "Natsu…" Lucy sobs "You made a promise to me Natsu, you promised me you'd come back. When you make a promise you keep it, isn't that right?" the tears begin streaming down Lucy's face.

"Natsu...please...don't go. After everything we've been through, after everything you've said to me...you can't do this to me. Don't leave me...I can't...I can't imagine Fairy Tail, I can't imagine the rest of my life without you. Please, come back." Still no response from him as tears begin dropping onto his chest.

"NATSU~!" Lucy cries out with her eyes closed.

Just then, his fingers flinch a little unbeknown to her. Lucy continues crying with her eyes closed, when "I could never leave you…"

Lucy's eyes shoot open, looking down Natsu begins stirring to life once more as he opens his right eye a little and gives a toothy-smile "Natsu!" Lucy says, still crying and with a sad expression on her face.

"Hey, hey, wipe those tears and that sad look away. They're ruining your beauty." Natsu says as he raises his left hand and wipes away the tears beneath her right eye with his thumb. Natsu with what strength he can, manages to muster up his signature toothy-grin "Told yah, I'd come back to you." he says.

Even when he's beaten up, and heavily exhausted from everything he's been through, the fact that he can still muster up his signature grin, it's enough to make Lucy smile down at him sincerely with tears still in her eyes "You idiot." she still can't help but say, but in her kind, and caring voice as she hugs him placing her head against his chest.

* * *

Sam and the Exceeds continued carefully making their way through the rocky canyon chasing after the Orcs that took Frodo "Come on, where did they take him?" Sam questions.

"It can't be much further." Carla says.

As they continued forward, suddenly what sounded like fighting erupted into the air as blades clashed and Orcs roared out "What is that?" Happy says.

"Fighting? But who?" Lily says.

Finally the group come across the exit, as before them stood a massive tower-like stronghold where the fighting could be heard coming from. "Think that's where Frodo is?" Happy questions.

"We're about to find out." Sam says as he quickly but quietly rushes off, the Exceeds following after him.

Approaching the entrance to the stronghold the group notice that everything has now quieted down inside. Reaching the wide open entryway the four walk into the stronghold, only to find a massacre inside. All over the place were dead Orcs "What happened here?" Carla says.

"Looks like infighting." Lily says inspecting a dead Orc and Black Uruk, both of them with the same looking swords stuck in each other's chest.

"Well, maybe saving Frodo won't be as hard as we thought." Happy says.

Sam looks to the right "I wouldn't be sure of that." he says raising his sword and Frodo's Sting. Suddenly appearing and walking towards the group, was a small band of Orcs who hadn't noticed them yet as they appeared to be checking for any survivors. However one Orc looked forward and spotted the Hobbit and Exceeds "Intruders!" the Orc yells alerting the other Orcs "Kill them!" the Orcs draw their weapons and roar at the group.

"Go find Frodo, I'll handle them!" Lily says shifting into Battle Mode and drawing Musica.

"Alright, just be careful." Sam says as he runs off.

"You get them Lily!" Happy cheers for him as he and Carla fly off after Sam.

Lily holds his sword at the ready as the Orcs charge at him "I've been itching for a good fight for some time, but I guess this will have to do for now." Lily says with a grin. With a battle cry Lily leaps forward and swings his sword cutting the first three Orcs down in a single slice.

Meanwhile Sam, Happy, and Carla run/fly through the rest of the fortress, everywhere they went dead bodies of Orcs and Black Uruks were strewn in their path "At least the majority took care of themselves for us." Happy says.

"It doesn't look like there's any lower level, so if they're keeping Frodo here he could be at the top of that tower." Carla says.

"Then that's where we're heading. And if anymore Orcs get in our way, they're going down!" Sam says with a serious look in his eyes.

Deeper and deeper into the stronghold the three went eventually reaching the first staircase, however Sam comes to a stop making the two Exceeds stop as well as he takes notice of a small group of four Black Uruks coming down the stairs. "Looks like there were a few more Orc survivors." Happy says.

"And they're in our way. Just stick close to me you two." Sam says as he walks up the first few steps. He was still concealed as there was a small hallway going up the first couple steps; Sam began making a growling noise and raised his swords, the torch from behind him illuminated his shadow onto the wall giving him a grotesque form on it. That and the angered growling sound he was making seemed to terrify the Orcs as one of them even bolted back up the stairs while the other three backed up slowly.

That didn't last long as Sam eventually revealed himself, the three Orcs seeing his true look were no longer terrified as they looked at one another and nodded in agreement to kill the hobbit and charged forward. The first Orc came up and swung his sword at Sam who ducked beneath it, driving his sword into the Orc and throwing him aside "That's for Frodo!" he says.

The last two Orcs charged him, however Happy and Carla flew in quickly and rammed themselves into the Orc on the left, the other Orc was too taken back by this that it allowed Sam to slash the Orc across the chest sending it flying and crying out in pain off the stairs "And for the Shire!"

Happy and Carla flew up dodging a swing from the last Orc which is when Sam came in stabbing the Orc from behind before pushing him off the stairs "And that's for my old Gaffer!" he yells before turning back forward to continue up the stairs, when suddenly another Black Uruk appears in front of him with its sword already raised. But before it can deliver the killing blow Happy and Carla fly back down and shoulder slam into the Orcs face sending it flying off the stairs "And that's for Fairy Tail!" the two Exceeds yell out.

With the Orcs now dealt with the three continued up the stairs, unbeknownst to them the fourth Orc from before appears from another passageway down the stairs, in his hand was Frodo's mithril shirt as the Orc ran off.

Lily blocked two Orcs swords and pushed them back, allowing the Exceed to swing his sword around and slash them both across their chests as he then turned around and kicked another Orc to the ground. Bringing his sword up he brought it down onto the Orc putting an end to it, around Lily were the dead bodies of the other Orcs who stood no chance against the skilled sword wielding Exceed, however up on the wall another Orc appeared, this one armed with a bow and arrow as the orc quietly pulled the arrow back. Before it can fire though Lily grabs the dagger Galadriel gave to him and turning around throws it right into the Orc's head, the dagger imbedding itself right between the Orcs eyes as the Orc fell off the wall and landed on the ground dead.

"Hmph, the dagger did come in handy after all." Lily says with a smirk as he walks over and takes the dagger back "Should probably catch up to the others now. Might be at the top of the tower." Lily says to himself as he reverts back to his normal form and flies off.

At the top of the tower meanwhile, Sam drives his sword into the back of the lead Orc that found Frodo before as the Orc was about to kill Frodo "Not if I stick you first." Sam states as the Orc was still alive but dying.

"Sam!" Frodo yells in surprise, the hobbit was half-naked with all his top clothing taken off, the webbing off him and his hands and feet bound by rope.

The orc finally drops dead after Sam pulls his sword out as Happy and Carla are then seen behind him "Happy! Carla!"

Lily flies up through the window "Sorry I took so long." Lily says.

"Lily!" Frodo yells, he was completely surprised to see all four of them here after everything he said to them before. "Oh Sam, Happy, Carla, Lily, I'm so sorry. Sorry for everything."

"Don't worry about it, friends get into fights all the time but in the end they always come back for each other when they are needed the most!" Happy says.

"And I'm guessing since that Gollum isn't here you finally realized what he did and took care of him?" Carla asks.

Frodo looked at Carla and remained silent for a few seconds "Don't worry. You don't have to worry about Sme-...Gollum anymore." Frodo says.

"None of that matters now, let's just get you out of here." Sam says as he begins undoing the ropes.

"It's too late. It's over. They've taken it. Sam...they took the Ring." Frodo says as he sits back up after Sam releases his hands. And sure enough the chain carrying the Ring around his neck was missing. However…

"Begging your pardon but they haven't." Sam says, standing back up he reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out Frodo's chain with the Ring still attached. Before leaving Frodo, Sam was able to quickly grab the Ring from him before going into hiding with the Exceeds knowing full well that if they saw that they would've taken it to Sauron and everything would really have been over.

"I thought I'd lost you. So I took it." Sam explains, though Frodo's face has now turned into one of shock as he sees Sam holding it. Even after knowing full well he had been tricked by Gollum, the words he said about Sam and the Exceeds wanting the Ring still haunted his mind, especially because of the Ring's power which he knew could corrupt nearly anyone.

"Only for safekeeping." Sam says as he holds the chain out.

"...Give it to me." Frodo says.

The Exceeds took notice of the look in Frodo's eyes and then looked at Sam, his eyes widened as he suddenly pulled the Ring back "Give me the Ring, Sam." Frodo asks.

Sam now seemed reluctant to give the Ring back to Frodo "Sam?" Happy says.

"Sam...maybe you should give Frodo back the Ring?" Carla says.

"Sam. Give me the Ring." Frodo says again.

"Sam." Lily says.

Eventually Sam finally gives the Ring back to Frodo who quickly takes it from his hand, putting the chain back around his neck as he looks back up at Sam who still seemed to be drawn to the Ring "You must understand. The Ring is my burden. It will destroy you Sam, all of you." Frodo says standing back up, though having a bit of trouble at first as now it seemed the Ring had become heavy once again around his neck.

"Come on Mr. Frodo. We best find you some clothes. You can't go walking through Mordor in naught but your skin." Sam says seeming to finally snap out of it as he grabs Frodo's sword and hands it to him.

"As a matter of fact, perhaps it'd be wise if all of us found some new things to wear. We are after all in the land of the enemy. We're gonna stick out like a sore thumb if we don't put on some disguises." Lily says.

"Then it appears it's a good thing we have a whole lot of dead Orcs and their armor to scavenge through. We better hurry though." Carla says.

After some time of searching for clothes and armor that would conceal their identities, the group finally left the stronghold and made their way down a short winding path. Frodo, Sam, and Lily who had shifted himself into Battle Form again were now covered from head to toe in Orc armor, their helmets concealing their faces as Lily wore a cape which beneath it concealed both Happy and Carla who clung to his clothing. After all, no Orcs were as short as them so they'd unfortunately stick out more and thus had to do this.

Walking down the path and then upwards towards some rocks, the group finally found themselves looking out into the vast, and barren land of Mordor. Mount Doom off in the distance looking like it was close, but walking there would probably not be so short, Barad-dur, farther off in the distance where the Eye of Sauron could be seen watching over all in his land. And worse, were the thousands of torches below where all of the Orcs of Mordor were located, thousands of Orcs were now between the Hobbits, Exceeds, and Mount Doom.

"We did it Mr. Frodo. We made it to Mordor." Sam says.

"Great, one problem down. About a thousand more to go." Lily says referring to the Orcs.

"There are so many of them. We'll never get through unseen." Frodo says.

Happy and Carla peek out from Lily's cape and see what lies before them "We could sure use Natsu and the others right now." Happy says.

"We could use all of Fairy Tail right now is more like it." Carla says.

As he looks across the land, Frodo's eyes finally come upon the Eye of Sauron itself "It's him, the Eye." he says.

The group exchange looks with one another "We have to go in there Mr. Frodo. There's nothing for it." Sam says.

"Really wish we could fly right now, but with those Nazgul in the air. It'd be suicide." Happy says.

"Come on. Let's just make it down the hill for starters." Sam says.

And thus the group began their trek into Mordor. The final step of the journey laid ahead of them.


	20. The End of it All

Gandalf looks forward with a grim look in his eyes "Frodo has passed beyond my sight." he turned and started walking. Gandalf, along with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli who sat at the Stewards seat, Eomer, Gajeel, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Lucy, and Natsu who had made a full recovery from his battle with the Witch-King thanks to Wendy and eating some fire, had all gathered in the Throne Room of Minas Tirith to discuss their next course of action. They may have survived the Battle of Minas Tirith and wiped out Sauron's massive army, but the fact remained that Sauron still lived, still had more Orcs in Mordor that could be ready for war instantly, and the forces of Men had suffered greatly and barely any Gondor or Rohirrim soldiers remained due to the heavy casualties they suffered during the battle. It would take too long to replenish their numbers, and Sauron would most likely not wait and if he should launch another full scale invasion of Gondor, it was a given that they were not going to survive. Then, there was the problem of Frodo's location…

"The darkness if deepening." Gandalf continues.

"If Sauron had the Ring we would know it." Aragorn says standing away from the others with his back to them.

"It's only a matter of time." Gandalf says turning to him and shaking his head, the others continued to listen in intensely from where they stood/sat "He has suffered a defeat yes but...behind the walls of Mordor our enemy is regrouping."

"Let him stay there." Gimli says taking the pipe he was smoking out of his mouth "Let him rot! Why should we care?" he questions.

"Because ten thousand Orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom." Gandalf replies.

Gimli takes the pipe out again, letting it sink in on what Gandalf had just said as the others also take this information in "Damn, I don't doubt Lily's skills. But even he can't take on ten thousand Orcs, not by himself anyways while protecting Frodo and the others." Gajeel says.

Gandalf walks around the room a little more before coming to a stop "I've sent him to his death." he quietly says.

"No." Aragorn says turning towards him "There is still hope for Frodo. He needs time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that." Aragorn continues.

"How?" Gimli asks with a curious look on his face.

"Draw out Sauron's armies. Empty his lands. Then we gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate." Aragorn says, making Gimli cough his smoke out in utter shock at what he was suggesting.

"We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms." Eomer says taking a few steps forward.

"Eomer's right, even with our forces combined we don't have the numbers to match Sauron's forces especially on the offense." Erza adds in.

"Not for ourselves. But we can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's Eye fixed upon us." Aragorn looks back at Gandalf "Keep him blind to all else that moves."

"A diversion." Legolas explains in short.

"Make it look like we're hitting him with everything we got to try and win this war through force, and then Frodo swoops past him and destroys the Ring really ending the whole thing!" Natsu eagerly says slamming his right fist into his palm.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success…" Gimli nods his head while continuing to smoke his pipe, nearby, upon hearing this Lucy hides her face and turns away with a grim look in her eyes "What are we waiting for?" he questions.

"I agree, let's do it!" Wendy says with a determined look in her eyes.

"Sauron will suspect a trap. He will not take the bait." Gandalf says.

"Plus even if we were to go through with this, combining both Gondor and Rohan's soldiers we're still nowhere near ten thousand Orcs. How would we draw out his entire force so that Frodo and the others can make it through without a single Orc in their path?" Gray asks.

"Trust me, I think he will. And I know how it can be done." Aragorn says with a small grin.

 _Later that Night…_

Aragorn approached the throne platform with his sword in hand, kneeling down he reached his other hand out towards one of the lower steps where on it, was the wrapped up cloth that contained the Palantir. Unwrapping it almost immediately some kind of activity erupted inside the Palantir causing Aragorn to look away and close his eyes out of fear, his hand remained hovering over the Palantir for a few seconds until finally he regained the courage and took a hold of the orb, wrapping his hand around and lifting the Palantir up in front of his face as Aragorn then opened his eyes and stared directly at it. Orange flames exploded inside the Palantir as the Eye of Sauron appeared within, staring towards Aragorn and speaking in the black speech "Long have you hunted me. Long have I eluded you." Aragorn began to speak in a raspy voice.

"No more." Aragorn lifted up the sword which definitely seemed to gain some kind of reaction from Sauron "Behold the Sword of Elendil." he states. Suddenly the Palantir seemed to zoom through the Eye's pupil, showing Sauron in his true form as he held the Palantir which then zoomed into that one, and suddenly began to show Arwen as she laid dying in Rivendell. Sauron began speaking once again in the black speech as Aragorn looked on in utter shock and fear, seeing the love of his life dying before him was too much to bear any longer as Aragorn launched himself back up to his feet dropping the Palantir. At the same time however, suddenly the Evenstar from around his neck somehow fell off and began falling towards the ground. The world around Aragorn seemed to slow down as he took notice of this and could only look down as his memento from Arwen slowly descended towards the ground, just like in that nightmare where it would then shatter to pieces on the marble floor.

But before it could impact, a hand suddenly came in from out of nowhere and caught it just mere inches away from the ground. The world sped back up as Aragorn turned towards the person who caught the Evenstar, to see Natsu as he pulled his hand back and looked down at it before looking at Aragorn. Without saying a word Natsu held his hand out to Aragorn, the Evenstar on his palm as Aragorn gradually took it back and bowed his head forward a little in thanks "If you don't mind, I have some of my own things to say to Sauron." Natsu says with a serious look in his eyes.

Turning towards the Palantir, Natsu walked over to it and extended his hand out, immediately grabbing a hold of the Palantir and holding it up in front of his face as the Eye of Sauron appeared once more speaking in his black speech. "You ever learn to shut the hell up?" Natsu angrily questions.

"Tomorrow we're putting an end to you and your flunkies once and for all. You're gonna pay for all the innocent lives you ruined, for all the families who have been torn apart because of you, for all the men, women, and children who will never see another day because of what you've brought on this world. This may not be me and my friends' world, but we're not going to let you do whatever you want to it and kill all these good people, we're gonna give you and your armies a fight like this was our own world, if you've been keeping an eye on us then you should be scared by now. So hope you're ready for us Sauron, because tomorrow the mages of Fairy Tail are going to help the Free People of Middle-Earth kick your ass, and your army's ass and send all of you back to wherever it is you came from. We're gonna help make sure you never trouble Middle-Earth ever again, and there's nothing you can do that's going to stop us!" Natsu states.

At this the Palantir begins shaking violently as the Eye of Sauron's flames light up like crazy and he screeches in anger through it, this makes Natsu smirk as he looks back at Aragorn who also has a small smile on his face, seeing that what they were doing was working in aggravating Sauron so that when they attacked, he wouldn't ignore them. Just then, Natsu throws the Palantir up into the air "And for the finale." Natsu says with a small grin as he ignites his right fist. As the Palantir falls back down towards him, Natsu throws his right fire engulfed fist towards it.

 _Sometime Later…_

Natsu opens up the door to his and Lucy's room, walking a few feet in before coming to a stop. Lucy was wide awake on the side of the bed facing the balcony as she seemed to be in a deep thought about something, looking out into the starry night sky as she hadn't even noticed Natsu walk in. Closing the door did grab her attention as she turned around and looked at Natsu "Seriously this is like the third time I've come across you sitting by yourself being in deep thought about something." Natsu humorously says walking towards her.

"Yeah well considering the number of things that always seem to happen of course I'm going to be doing this a lot. Some things need to be just, thought over and stuff." Lucy says, Natsu walking over and sitting next to her as the two then look back at the night sky.

"So, what is it this time?" Natsu asks without turning his head.

Lucy lowers her head with a worried look in her eyes "What else, the final battle tomorrow. We're outnumbered, probably going to be surrounded-"

"So pretty much like all the big battles we've fought since we got here." Natsu says turning his head to look at her with a smile.

"I know, but at least when it came to this battle and, well from what I heard from Erza at Helm's Deep there, at least there were the chances of getting help in some kind of way leading to a victory. But with tomorrow, we're not going to be getting any help at all, what we've got is it. I'm not doubting Frodo in destroying the Ring, but the question is, are we going to be able to last long enough until Frodo destroys it?" Lucy questions.

"Of course we are, we're going to get out of this alive, all of us, Lucy. And once this is done, then we're finally going to be able to go home. Back to the guild, and to all our friends there waiting for us." Natsu says.

"But what if…" at hearing this Natsu's smile drops "I know I shouldn't be thinking about it. But it's something I can't help think about. What if something goes wrong tomorrow, Natsu. This is a suicide mission after all, and when something like this happens, a lot of people die. After all, with the enemy force outnumbering us the fighting's going to be so close that you never know what could happen. What if...what if something goes wrong tomorrow and one of us…" Lucy stops talking, her hands clenching into fists on her knees.

"Lucy?" Natsu says with a worried look in his eyes.

"Natsu, when I picked you up on the field, and you didn't move. It terrified me, more than anything else that has ever happened in my life. Almost losing you, the feeling that you almost left me alone. It was...it was so unbearable that I just...I don't want to have to go through that feeling ever again, or what would have happened had you actually died." Lucy says.

"And you won't, I'm here still aren't I? Nothing's going to happen to me, and nothing's going to happen to you, because as long as I'm here I'm going to protect you no matter what!" Natsu states.

A small smile appears on Lucy's face "I know you will. It's just, I'm scared about what could happen, if one of us doesn't make it, what the other will go through? Maybe, if tomorrow is to be our last day, maybe the both of us dying together, wouldn't seem so bad." Lucy says turning towards Natsu.

Natsu is taken aback by this, not liking the idea either way, either him or Lucy, or the both of them dying "Lucy, I promise you now, no matter what happens. We're both going to see another day, we're both going to go home, to Fairy Tail. And we're going to continue going on adventures together, just like we've been doing since the day you joined the guild. And we'll do so together, forever, as eternal partners." Natsu says.

"Again, I know you will. And you know, that last part, it doesn't sound so bad when considering things. Had you said it at any other time before this whole thing, I probably would've complained about it or said something bad. But now…that's probably something I really look forward to if we survive." Lucy says with a sincere smile. With a sincere smile of his own, Natsu and Lucy lean in and share another kiss for a few seconds before breaking apart. Suddenly Lucy's cheeks turn bright red as she turns away "Hm, what is it Lucy?" Natsu asks noticing this.

"It's just...about what you said. Natsu, I know you'll do everything in your power to protect me, but it's just...If...if tonight's going to our last night together. If something goes wrong tomorrow, maybe it's worth making this night something memorable, to remember by, just in case." Lucy says.

Natsu raises an eyebrow "Huh? What are you talking about?" he asks.

Lucy seemed to be really embarrassed about whatever it was she was thinking, and so not really wanting to say it out loud, Lucy leans in and whispers something into Natsu's ear. Suddenly his eyes widen in utter shock, his cheeks also turning red in embarrassment "W-Wait, what?!" Natsu questions nervously.

Lucy looks at him with a small smile "It's like you said, Natsu. Let's continue going on adventures together, forever, as eternal partners. And maybe one day...as something more."

Natsu looks at her with an unsure expression "L-Lucy...are you really sure about this? I mean, because what if we do survive?"

Lucy shakes her head slowly before looking back while at the same time undoing her pigtails allowing her long, beautiful blonde hair to fall down "Doesn't matter, because at this point, I really can't see myself spending the rest of my life with anyone else. Only my Guardian Dragon who will always be by my side, forever. The Dragon who while he may be an idiot, is an idiot that I've chosen, to fall in love with." Lucy says.

Natsu is taken aback by hearing this "Lucy…"

Once again, the Fire Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit Mage lean in and share another, this time longer, kiss. Eventually breaking apart for some air, Lucy suddenly turns and crawls up the bed with Natsu following almost immediately. Turning around and lying down Lucy plants her head against the pillow as Natsu crawls over and lingers above her body using his arms to hold him up. Leaning down Natsu shares another kiss with Lucy for a few seconds before breaking apart, only to do it again almost immediately for a few more seconds. As the second kiss is happening Lucy suddenly unzips Natsu's waistcoat as the Fire Dragon Slayer leans up and begins taking it off, revealing his muscular toned body that Lucy had seen plenty of times before already, as well as the cross-shaped scar on the left side of his abdomen that he had gained from his battle with Future Rogue.

While he is doing this Lucy works on taking her own coat off, as well as her detached sleeves, the two throwing the pieces of clothing aside to the ground before sharing another kiss, this time Natsu works on taking her shirt off as Lucy helps so by raising her arms into the air as the two break away again allowing Natsu to pull the shirt off and then toss it into the pile of clothes. Looking back at her, Natsu suddenly leans back a little, Lucy was now wearing just a white and pink flowered bra and her skirt, but the look in her eyes…

"Lucy...are you really sure about this." Natsu asks.

Lucy herself seems to be a bit unsure about this as she looks away out of the corner of her eyes, but after a few seconds looks back and nods her head. At this, Natsu slowly reaches behind her, and unhooks her bra, allowing the piece of clothing to fall off as Natsu takes in the sight of the beautiful girl he has fallen in love with, before him. Sure he has seen them before, but this time, with everything that has happened between the two, things actually seemed to be quite different in terms of the atmosphere. Lucy had a nervous look on her face, and was at first tempted to cover her assets up, but honestly, considering what she was about to do was with the only person in her life she could only ever truly see herself being with forever no matter what, it didn't matter.

"Beautiful on the inside, and the outside. But it's what's inside, that I really fell in love with." Natsu says.

"Yeah, same to you." Lucy says with a small smile.

Picking her bra up, Lucy tosses it aside as Natsu leans down once again and the two begin sharing another long kiss, the shadows of the room dancing over their bodies as the two make out, to make the night truly memorable, and to signify that they would always, truly, be together, forever.

* * *

 _The Next Day…_

With the sun high in the sky the forces of Gondor and Rohan slowly rode out, at the front of the column was Gandalf with Pippin, Legolas with Gimli, Eomer with Merry, Natsu with Lucy, Erza with Wendy, Gajeel, Gray, and at the front of them was Aragorn. Now adorned in silver plated pauldrons on his shoulders, and chainmail which he wore beneath a royal-like garb that had the symbol of the white tree with some stars shining above sewn onto it. Their destination, the Black Gate of Mordor.

 _Meanwhile in Mordor…_

The Hobbits and Exceeds slid down the dirt path of another short cliff arriving onto a road, just as suddenly a horn resounded out into the air "Look, the Orcs. They're moving off." Sam says, the group noticing the torches of the Orc hordes marching towards the direction of the Black Gate.

"They're heading towards the Black Gate." Carla says.

"Something big must be happening for all of them to be heading there." Lily says.

"Things just got a whole lot easier!" Happy joyfully says with a raised paw.

"He's right, you see Mr. Frodo. Some luck at last." Sam says looking at Frodo.

Just then, Lily's ears perk up "Hold on a second, you hear that?" Lily says. Quieting down everyone listens in, to hear the sounds of marching footsteps heading their way followed by "Move it, you slugs!"

Following where the sound came from, the group looks up the road to see a column of Orcs coming their way "Come on! Faster!"

"Orcs!" Carla quietly says in a panic. The group quickly begins looking around but sees nowhere for them to hide, the cliff in front of them was too far and steep to jump down, and if the Exceeds spread their wings and attempted to fly with the Hobbits they would be spotted by the Orcs. "Happy, Carla!" Lily says shifting into Battle Mode as Happy and Carla climb up and hide beneath his cape, Lily, Frodo, and Sam then decide to try and wait it out in hopes they wouldn't get dragged along as they get against the wall and sit down.

"Come along, you scum! I'll whip you down to the bone!"

The Orc column appears, all the orcs armed to the teeth and ready for battle as they continued to march along, ignoring Frodo, Sam, and Lily "Come on! What have I told you?!" More and more Orcs continued to pass by, that is, until one Orc who seemed to be keeping them in line began to walk by as he took notice of the three and immediately stopped to face them.

"Get up! Come on you slugs!" in anger the Orc began swinging his whip at the three, Lily was barely affected by it and found it just plain annoying, but the two Hobbits were getting stung just a little by the hits of the whip, nevertheless the three knew they now had no choice but to play along. "You three! Are going straight! To the front line!" the Orc states as the Hobbits and Lily get up to join the column, the Orc pushing both Hobbits "Now move it! Go on! Fall in! Move it!"

Pushed into the rank of the Orc column, the three found themselves continuously being pushed forward by the other Orcs with no way out at the current moment without being suspicious, all they could do now at the moment was hide their faces so the orcs around them wouldn't get a good look at them. "To the gate, you slugs! Now move it!" the Orc continued to shout swinging his whip at other Orcs as now the Hobbits and Exceeds found themselves joining amongst the thousands of Orcs marching towards the Black Gate.

"Don't you know we're at wa~r?!"

"This doesn't sound good." Carla quietly says.

"What are we going to do now?" Happy questions.

The Orcs weren't the only ones however, having gotten close enough to Mordor the majority of the forces of Men dismounted their horses and began marching in a column towards the Black Gate, with only the heroes and a few others remaining on their horses.

"Company, halt!" the Orc yelled as the column of Orcs the group was in came to a stop.

"Inspection!"

At this the Exceeds eyes widened in shock, now that the chance of them being discovered was pretty much inevitable if the Orcs inspecting them take a really good look at Lily, Frodo, and Sam's faces. Worse yet, it seemed now Frodo was finding himself getting really tired and weak all of a sudden "Sam, help me." Frodo says in a weakened voice as he almost collapses had Sam not caught him in time "Mr. Frodo!" he says in a worried tone.

At the front of the column was a big, fat, ugly looking Orc with only one eye opened as he inspected the Orcs at the front before beginning to make his way through, and unfortunately in the path of which the group was in. "Stand up Mr. Frodo. Stand up!" Sam quietly ushers with hurry.

"It's so heavy." Frodo says.

Moving his head around, Sam took notice of the skin around Frodo's neck which seemed to be burning and peeling because of the chain the Ring was attached too. "This is bad." Lily says, Sam looks forward as the big Orc suddenly stops, and slowly turns his head right towards them.

"Oh no." Sam says.

The Orc's eyes suddenly both open, his right eye a black pupil while his left eye was entirely pale, as the orc roared out and began pushing his way towards the three "What's going on out there?" Carla quietly asks.

"Trouble's coming our way, literally." Lily replies.

"What do I do? What do we do?" Sam begins questioning in a panic as he looks around.

"Distraction, we need some kind of distraction." Lily says as he begins looking around trying to think of something.

"Hit me." Frodo suddenly says.

"What?" Sam and Lily both question at the same time.

"Hit me Sam, start fighting." Frodo says.

With the Orc inspector getting closer, Sam had no choice but to listen to Frodo immediately as he yells "Get off of me!" and pushes Frodo to the ground "Nobody pushes me you filthy maggot!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Lily begins chanting, successfully inciting the other Orcs who begin to watch and cheer on the fight as Sam and Frodo begin "fighting" throwing punches, soft ones, into each other. "Get off of me!" Sam yells again, just as suddenly the Orc with the whip arrives "Break it up! Break it up!" he begins yelling while hitting Sam with the whip.

"Oi!" the big Orc yells catching the other Orc's attention "I'll have your guts if you don't shut this rabble down!"

"Quickly, while they're distracted!" Lily says helping both Frodo and Sam to their feet as the three force their way through some of the Orcs on the side who pay no attention to them, and into a nearby tent. Just as the inspector Orc begins looking around for them, only to discover they're no longer there. Instead of wasting any time in searching for them the Orc inspector decides to forget about it and ushers the column forward "Rah! Move along scum!" he says as he moves off.

"Back in the line!" the other Orc yells "You maggots!" as the Orcs begin moving off again, the Hobbits and Exceeds sneak out the back of the tent and climb up the nearby rocks, finally escaping from them, and any more Orcs as all that now lies before them was an open wasteland of dirt and rocks between them and Mount Doom.

 _Sometime Later…_

The Hobbits and Exceeds continued their trek across the wasteland of Mordor, nothing but dirt and rock for miles in every direction as the winds blew dirt in every direction, and to make matters worse was how the closer they got to Mount Doom, the hotter it got making the long trek even more unbearable. No food, barely any water left, the farther the group traveled the more tired and weak they got where they were just walking very sluggishly towards Mount Doom, what was only minutes felt like hours, and while the sight of Mount Doom made it look like they were getting closer, looking at the land before them only made them realize how far a walk they still had to go.

Climbing up another rocky hill at a slow rate due to the fatigue that was starting to set in, Frodo suddenly tripped and fell forward just as Sam and the Exceeds reached the top to get another view of Mount Doom, smoke pouring out from the top into the darkened skies as thunder roared above it. Turning back to look at him to make sure he was alright, Frodo took his Orc mask off, out of breathe and tossed it aside "I can't...I can't...I can't manage the Ring Sam. It's...It's...It's such a weight to carry. It. Such a weight." Frodo says.

Sam takes his helmet off "We're going that way. Straight as we can. There's no point carrying anything we're not sure to need." Sam says.

"Agree, the less weight we have to worry about, the better." Lily says taking his helmet off as he begins to take off the rest of the Orc armor.

Taking their armor's off as well, the three toss them off the cliff as Sam even tosses all his pans and other cooking material since they were out of food anyways, and it didn't look like they were going to find any living, edible thing in Mordor. "Moments like this, I really miss being able to fly." Happy says as he and Carla are also trying to catch their breaths.

"You can say that again." Carla says.

What feels like night has fallen as the group try to get some rest and recovery against some rocks, suddenly the heat has turned into extreme cold as the Hobbits and Exceeds shiver from it with nothing to cover themselves with.

"So...c-c-cold." Carla says, lying against Happy who tries his best to help keep her warm holding her.

Just then Sam takes notice of something in the sky "Mr. Frodo. Look." Sam says catching the Exceeds attention as they immediately turn, as Frodo who is more tired and weak compared to the others, slowly turns his head with his eyes half opened. "There is light, and beauty up there. That no shadow can touch." Sam says as there is a small break in the clouds, allowing them to see the clear night sky with some shining stars.

"It really is beautiful." Carla says.

"Aye." Happy says in agreement.

Lily remains silent with a small smile on his face looking up towards the stars. Looking back down at Frodo, Sam notices he's actually fast asleep now, the group hides in a crevice between the rocks allowing them to be hidden from Sauron's eye as it continues looking throughout the land.

 _Meanwhile…_

The army of Men continue their march, rounding the corner of a rocky hill, the force finally comes across their target, the Black Gate of Mordor.

 _Back in Mordor…_

Frodo lifts his water satchel to his mouth, but when no water comes out he begins squeezing it in an attempt to get something out but to no avail. Dehydration was now another problem facing the group "Take mine." Sam says rushing over to Frodo, opening his cap and handing his satchel to him "There's a few drops left."

Taking it Frodo lifts the satchel and just barely gets what little water remains until finally, there is no more.

"Here Carla, take the rest of mine as well." Happy says handing his to her "Are you sure Happy?" Carla asks.

"Of course, your health is always more important than mine." Happy says, hearing this takes Carla aback a little and makes her blush a little.

"Th-Thank you, Happy." Carla says taking the satchel, drinking what little water is left from his.

"This is bad." Lily says turning his satchel upside down and shaking it to show nothing coming out of his.

"There will be none left for the return journey." Frodo says in despair.

Sam suddenly slowly shakes his head "I don't think there will be a return journey Mr. Frodo." he says solemnly, seemingly accepting this fact. Frodo looks up at him as Sam stands up and extends his hand out, Frodo now seemingly accepting this as well as he grabs it and is pulled up.

"I wonder what's going to happen to us?" Happy wonders.

"It depends, will the magic be casted immediately, or would we have to go back to Galadriel herself to return home? And if that's the case…" Lily says.

"Then we're in the same boat as Frodo and Sam...we probably won't make it either." Carla says, a saddened tone in her voice at the thought that she was no longer going to be with Wendy anymore.

"Wendy…" Carla says.

"Natsu…" Happy says.

"Gajeel…" Lily says, all three Exceeds looking at the ground at the thought that they weren't going to be returning to their Dragon Slayers, or to Fairy Tail and the rest of their friends.

 _Outside the Black Gate…_

The soldiers begin to line up, forming a circle with their swords and shields at the ready and determined looks in their eyes, off to the side was a few captains still on their horses, as at the front was the heroes along with Eomer and a Gondor Captain who looked towards the Black Gate.

 _Back in Mordor…_

The group continued to walk towards Mount Doom, now on a high, flat hill wide in the open. Suddenly, a strange whistling sound and the low mumblings of what sounded like Sauron speaking infiltrated Frodo's mind and ears, and in the state was in, tired, dehydrated, and hungry, Frodo's mind was not with him as he began randomly waving his arms around in front of him while stumbling forward a little ahead of the others. Falling down a step of rocks, his body pale and full of dried cuts and bruises, Frodo seemed to regain control of himself as he came to a stop and began looking around; as did Sam and the Exceeds who also began taking notice of their location, and a sudden beam of light coming towards them from their left.

Carla gasps in shock "The eye!" she says in panic as her eyes and the others come upon Barad-dur, and the Eye of Sauron at the top as it was now just a few miles away from them. And unfortunately, the group had lost their train of thought so much because of their tired and weak states that they failed to take notice of where exactly it was they were walking as they were now wide out in the open and close to Sauron as his gaze slowly turned towards them.

"Get down!" Lily shouts as the four dive behind a nearby rock for cover.

"Frodo get down!" Sam cries out taking notice of Frodo not being as quick to notice as he slowly turns around "Hide Frodo!" Happy yells.

Frodo turns and looks directly at the Eye as his eyes widen in shock and horror, turning around with his mouth opened Frodo suddenly falters and falls to the ground hitting it hard "Frodo!" Sam yells out.

"Don't move! Sauron's still looking this way!" Lily says noticing how the beam of light from Sauron's eye continued gazing and moving in the general area they were in.

"Did he see us?" Happy questions fearfully.

"Hard to tell, but the fact he seems to be scanning the area again means he might of noticed Frodo but not realized if we're truly here or not." Carla says as the four continue pushing themselves against the rocks, unable to check on Frodo to see if he's okay.

"Dammit, how could we have let ourselves get so close to him!?" Lily angrily says to himself.

"Our minds and bodies are starting to weaken, this heat, no food or water, none of this is helping our current state. We didn't even pay attention to the fact we were walking right in the open." Carla says.

"Frodo, please be okay...Frodo!" Happy cries out.

 _At the Gate…_

"Where are they?" Pippin questions as the heroes and their men continue waiting for something to happen. But no activity comes from the Black Gate.

Deciding to take things into his own hands, Aragorn spurs his horse forward as the others including Eomer and the Gondor Captain follow after him; the group galloping up to the Black Gate until they are just a few feet away from the towering and impeding walls.

"Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Let justice be done upon him!" Aragorn yells, his voice echoing out as everything goes silent once again. Still no activity stirs from the gate.

The members of the group continue breathing heavily from the suspense of this thing opening up and thousands of Orcs marching towards them, but at the current moment all that could be thought of was, where was Sauron's army and why wasn't the gate opening? Silence, and more silence. "Alright that does it, let me smash this gate wide open that'll get Sauron's attention no problem!" Natsu says with his right eyebrow twitching finding this whole waiting game irritating.

Just then however, the response finally came as the Black Gate suddenly creaked to life and began opening up slowly outwards drawing everyone's attention forward. The gate however only opens up a crack as from the other side what appears to be a tall man garbed in black, priest-like robes wearing a helmet that covers most of his face save for his mouth, riding atop a black armored horse appears slowly riding up to them stopping just a few feet away.

"My master Sauron the Great bids thee welcome." the figure speaks, on the helmet around his mouth were some letters carved into it, and to make the figure even more unsettling, was the fact that his mouth was bigger than a normal man's and when he gave a toothy smile that opened up wide, his teeth were all but black and rotted away.

Aragorn raises his eyebrows a bit, unaverred by the man's appearance but still a bit disgusted by it while Legolas eyes him angrily, the appearance of the man definitely frightened Wendy a little but she remained strong in the look on her face. "Ugh, dude, ever heard of a dentist?" Gray sarcastically remarks.

"Is there any in this rout with authority to treat with me?"

"We do not come to treat with Sauron," the man turns his head towards Gandalf "faithless and accursed." the man grits his teeth seemingly in anger at this. "Tell your master this: The armies of Mordor must disband. He is to depart these lands, never to return." Gandalf states.

However the man chuckles "Old Greybeard." he says with a sinister looking grin on his face. Just then he opens his mouth wide in a gasp, like he was remembering something "I have a token I was bidden to show thee." the man then raises his right hand forward, and in it Frodo's mithril shirt unfolds from it. The sight of it shocking nearly everyone as while Gandalf, and Legolas don't show it, the sight of the mithril shirt makes Gimli quietly gasp, and the eyes of the Fairy Tail mages widen.

"Frodo…" Pippin says also in shock.

The man tosses the shirt at Gandalf who catches it "Frodo!" Pippin says again looking back at the shirt before looking back forward.

The man growls through his teeth "Silence." Gandalf says.

"No!" Merry says already on the verge of tears.

"Silence!" Gandalf says again.

Erza and the others stare with hatred in their eyes towards the man, while for some reason Natsu and Aragorn remain unfazed by this for some reason.

"The Halfling was dear to thee I see. Know that he suffered greatly at the hands of his host." Gimli growls angrily as Legolas also eyes him but with a hint of grief in his eyes also believing Frodo to have perished. "Who would've thought one so small could endure so much pain?" the man continues as Gandalf hands the mithril shirt to Pippin who clenches it in his hands as he looks back up at the man on the verge of tears. "And he did, Gandalf. He did." Now, even Gandalf is about to cry as tears swell up in his eyes.

Worse also, was the thought that if Frodo died, then their Exceed partners… Wendy was about ready to cry at the thought that she had lost Carla, Gajeel tried fighting his own tears back but if Lily also didn't make it then. "Natsu?" Lucy quietly says to him, noticing how he wasn't saying anything as his face was covered in shadows, making her worried that he might be grieving for Happy since he might have died as well.

Just then Aragorn slowly rode up towards the servant of Sauron "And who is this? Isildur's heir? It takes more to make a king than a broken Elvish blade." suddenly without warning Aragorn unsheathes his sword and with a battle cry of anger decapitates Sauron's servant in one swing. The act causing shock amongst the group who are surprised by Aragorn's action "I guess that concludes negotiations." Gimli says.

Aragorn turns back to face the others "I do not believe it. I will not." he states with a determined look in his eyes.

"Aragorn's right." Natsu speaks up catching everyone's attention "It's bullshit, all of it!" he says raising his head forward "There's no way Happy, Carla, Lily, or Sam would have let anything happen to Frodo. It's gonna take more than some stupid shirt to tell me that my friends are dead." Natsu states.

The Eye of Sauron makes a loud growling noise and suddenly turns its gaze towards the Black Gate, away from the Hobbits and Exceeds who take notice of this. Back at the Black Gate the massive structure begins to open up once more, Aragorn turns towards it as this time coming through is the Orc horde of Sauron's army "Looks like we definitely got his attention with that." Gajeel says.

"Pull back. Pull back!" Aragorn orders as the riders turn their horses and start galloping back towards the men as the gate continues to slowly open up revealing more and more of Sauron's massive army, as well as the tower of Barad-dur far off in the distance. The sight of the massive army of Orcs sends fear down the men's faces with many of them even taking a few steps back.

"The Eye's looking away!" Carla says.

"It's gone Mr. Frodo. The light's passed on, away towards the north. Something's drawn its gaze." Sam says crawling over to Frodo who still lies on the ground but is beginning to recover.

"It must be something big to have drawn his attention." Lily says.

"Wonder what it could be?" Happy questions.

Sam gets up and helps Frodo to his feet as Frodo still appears to be in a daze.

 _Back at the Gate…_

The gate is opened much wider now allowing the soldiers of Gondor and Rohan to see just the size of the Orc army stretch on far and wide, looks of despair and fear are seen in the eyes of many of the men. "Hold your ground! Hold your ground." Aragorn begins yelling making the men stop in their tracks as they all turn their attention towards him.

"Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers!" the men gather together and take a few steps forward to listen in.

"I see in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me." Aragorn says slowly riding side to side in front of the soldiers "A day may come, when the courage of Men fails; when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves, and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day. This day we fight!" Aragorn's speech appears to work in raising the morale of the men as no longer do any of them have the look of fear or despair in their eyes, but hope and determination.

"By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!" Aragorn finishes raising his sword into the air, causing all of the soldiers without spears to draw their swords ready for battle as Aragorn turns his horse around to face the oncoming Orc horde.

Now at the foot of Mount Doom, the Hobbits and Exceeds begin their long trek up the side of the volcano. The slope of the hill, the radiating intense heat from the shooting steam all over the place and volcano, making their climb very tiring and difficult as their fatigue continues to worsen as one by one the Hobbits and Exceeds fall to the ground. Hungry, dehydrated, and out of breathe.

"So tired...so...hungry...so thirsty…" Happy says trying to catch his breathe.

Back at the gate the massive Orc army begins to surround the Men of the West forces who can easily be seen being highly outnumbered literally 10 to 1. Having sent their horses away Aragorn, Natsu, and the others stand ready staring down the Orc forces in front of them who continue marching forward.

Back at the foot of Mount Doom Frodo weakly raises his head to look up at the top of the volcano, the dark smoke continually rising from the top with balls of firing also shooting out from it. He was so close, so close to ending this whole thing, all of Middle-Earth was counting on him and he couldn't give up now that he was right there! Fighting to gather was strength was left, Frodo began his slow crawl up the volcano but is only able to get a few feet past Sam and the others who are still too tired to move before collapsing back to the ground.

At the gate Pippin draws his sword while Merry takes in a deep breath and releases looking at all the Orcs who continue encircling the group to ensure that none of them will escape. Eomer eyes this as well until eventually the Orcs now cover the Men of the West from all sides, there was now no chance of a retreat, it was either victory, or death.

"Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an Elf." Gimli says.

"What about side by side with a friend?" Legolas questions turning his head down to look at him. Gimli returns the look and remains silent for a few seconds before finally replying "Aye...I could do that." he says with a small smile.

"Well, guess this is it. If I'm going down, I'm going to be taking at least hundreds of these bastards with me." Gajeel says with a smirk.

"Really? That all you got to say metal head? No it's been fun while it lasted fighting side by side with us Fairies or anything like that?" Gray humorously questions.

Gajeel turns his head towards him "Gihi, sorry, not getting any emotional mushy crap from me, even if this is our last fight together." Gajeel says with a grin.

"Hmph, good, otherwise I'd never let it down when we see each other again in the next life." Gray says.

"Wendy…" Erza says looking down at the young Dragon Slayer with sorrowed look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about me, Erza-san. No matter what happens today, I'm just glad I got to meet you guys, and everyone else at Fairy Tail. If it wasn't for you taking me in after what happened to Cait Shelter, I...I don't know what would have happened to me and Carla. You, Natsu-san, Lucy-san, Gray-san, Gajeel-san, and everyone else, you're all the best thing to have happened in my life. And I will always love all of you for that, for being my friends, for being my family." Wendy says looking up at Erza.

Erza is taken aback by this with her mouth opened in awed, until she closes it and smiles at Wendy "And we're glad to have met you, Wendy. You have also become a dear friend, and family member of Fairy Tail." Erza says.

Natsu and Lucy stand next to each other, as Natsu angrily eyes the Orcs, Lucy slips her hand into his catching his attention as Natsu looks at her "Thank you, Natsu. For everything." Lucy says with a small sincere smile on her face.

Natsu smiles back at her "You to, Lucy." he says before the two clench their hands together and look back at the Orc horde ready for battle.

Back at Mount Doom, full of determination Sam pushes himself up and crawls over to Frodo picking him up and holding him in his arms as he then looks back up at the volcano for a few seconds before looking back down at Frodo "Do you remember the Shire Mr. Frodo?" Sam asks.

Frodo however is too tired to even give a response as his eyes still remain closed "It'll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket." a small tear begins traveling down Sam's left cheek as Frodo opens his eyes a little. "And they'll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields, and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?" Sam asks with sadness in his voice.

The Exceeds listen in as Happy raises his head slightly while Carla and Lily can only look up with their weakened eyes "No Sam." Frodo says wheezing from the dehydration "I can't recall the taste of food...nor the sound of water, nor the touch of grass. I'm...naked in the dark. There's-There's nothing. No veil between me and the wheel of fire." Frodo's eyes widen and his breathing picks up in pure fear "I can see him...with my waking eyes."

"Then let us be rid of it..." Sam states with a serious look in his eyes "...once and for all. Come on Mr. Frodo. I can't carry it for you, but I can carry **you!** Come on!" Sam yells lifting himself and Frodo up to his feet as he then throws Frodo over his shoulders and begins walking up the steep volcano.

"We...we can't...give up either." Happy says pulling himself forward a little "If Sam can keep himself going, then we will too!"

"Too, hungry...too thirsty. Can't...Don't have any…" Carla says as she tries to push herself up.

"Don't even have enough energy to even summon my wings…" Lily says also trying to push himself up, even the most hardened warrior of the Exceed trio was finding the fatigue, hunger, and dehydration hitting him hard.

"If we can't overcome those obstacles...then what are we?" Happy says as he slowly begins pushing himself to his feet "If Sam can summon up the strength to carry Frodo on, then why can't we summon the strength to continue helping them?! We're right here, at our end goal. If Natsu and the others were here now, they wouldn't be giving up either. Aren't we mages of Fairy Tail ourselves?! And as mages of Fairy Tail, no matter what challenges are given to us, it is our job to overcome them, no matter what!" Happy yells full of determination.

"Happy…" Carla says in awe at seeing Happy like this.

Happy turns his head back to the two "Come on, Carla, Lily. Let's complete this quest, for Fairy Tail, for Middle-Earth!" he says.

Seeing their fellow Exceed push himself like Sam was now, was enough as Lily smirked before giving it his all to push himself back onto his feet and continue on after Sam and Frodo. Carla attempted to do the same as well, but she just couldn't find enough strength left in herself to do it, until suddenly Happy appeared in front of her and lifted her up to her feet placing her left paw over his shoulders "Happy?" Carla says.

"I got you Carla, now let's go." Happy says as he begins walking up the mountain after the others while carrying Carla. Carla is especially taken aback by this as while Happy is focused solely on climbing up the mountain, Carla can't help but smile and blush at his actions of carrying her.

* * *

The Orc army, which now also consists of a few trolls, has the Men of the West forces completely surrounded from all sides. There was no turning back now for anyone, it was either victory or death. The Orc forces stand ready staring down the forces of Men and the heroes among them. As Aragorn and the others stand at the ready, he finds himself drawn towards the Eye of Sauron which suddenly begins calling out to him _"Aragorn."_

Seemingly caught in some sort of trance, Aragorn takes a few steps forward catching the attention of his friends as he lowers his sword _"Elessar."_ Natsu and the others watch Aragorn unsure of what he was doing, as then Aragorn slowly turns around to face them. A small smile appears on his face "For Frodo." he says before turning back, raising his sword and charging forward.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - For Frodo)**_

Just a few seconds later both Pippin and Merry let out battle cries and charge forward, and not that long after Natsu, Lucy, Gandalf, and everyone else lets out a roaring battle cry as they charge forward. Even with the head start the Hobbits find themselves being caught up by everyone else "Let's go~!" Natsu cries out full of anger while Gandalf, and Aragorn let out another battle cry each.

Legolas is quick to fire off at least one arrow from his bow as then Aragorn collides into the Orc forces twirling around and swinging his sword to knock a few spears out of the way before driving his sword into an orc. Just as then the Men of the West follow in and collide with the Orc forces as well driving spears and swords into any and all Orcs that stand in their way.

" **Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"**

Lucy and Erza both let out another battle cry as they swing their respective weapon.

" **Ice Make Lance!"**

" **Wing Attack of the Sky Dragon!"**

" **Club of the Iron Dragon!"**

At the same time the Fairy Tail mages release their respective attacks plowing their way through a large group of Orcs taking many of them out and sending them flying. The final battle for Middle-Earth, had begun.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - For Frodo)**_

As this was happening Sam continued his trek up Mount Doom carrying Frodo with the Exceeds following behind him, Happy still helping Carla as well as the group walked on some rocks that loosely formed some kind of staircase up the mountain. Turning past another large rock Sam spotted something off in the distance not that far away from them "Look Mr. Frodo...A doorway." Sam says.

Carved into the mountain was indeed a massive doorway with fiery light illuminating it from the inside, two pillars stood on either side with a structural-like entrance built around it. "It has to be the entrance into Mount Doom." Lily says barely standing at this point.

"It's got to be! It's the only way in unless we have to travel all the way to the top!" Happy says with a determined look in his eyes.

"We're almost there." Sam says.

"We need to hurry." Carla says.

Just as they begin climbing again, a familiar figure emerges above the rock to their right "Clever Hobbits," Gollum begins to speak, his voice seething with absolute hatred as Sam and the Exceeds look up at him also with anger but shock as well at seeing him again "to climb so high!" he yells as he launches himself onto Frodo. Causing Sam to lose his balance as he attempts shaking Gollum off but to no avail; placing Carla down Happy calls out "Lily!" and the two spread their wings and attempt to ram Gollum.

However Gollum notices this and simply backhands the two Exceeds away into the other massive rock behind them, knocking the air out of the already weakened Exceeds as they fall back to the ground "Happy! Lily!" Carla cries out.

Finally Gollum succeeds in knocking Sam off balance as the Hobbit falls causing him to lose his grip on Frodo and send him and Gollum tumbling down the rocks a few feet before coming to a stop. Frodo who has regained consciousness and knows what's going on attempts to crawl away, too weak to fight against Gollum as the deformed Stoor quickly grabs and pulls him back, turning him around as he then begins choking Frodo. Frodo can do nothing but try to scream as Gollum roars at him "Mustn't go that way. Mustn't hurt the precious." Gollum says.

"You swore! You swore on the precious!" Frodo states, one of Gollum's hands now pinning his left arm to the ground while the other still remains at his neck. This garners nothing but a mocking whining sound from Gollum "Smeagol promised!" Frodo says trying his best to stop Gollum and maybe bring his good side out.

However, a sinister grin appears on Gollum's face "Smeagol lied." he says before resuming choking the life out of Frodo with both hands on his throat. Recovering from the fall and gathering what strength he can to fight back, Sam grabs a nearby rock and throws it at Gollum, striking him in the head and knocking him off and away from Frodo a few feet. Almost immediately however Gollum recovers holding his right hand to his head above the eye where upon removing it reveals a bloody cut from the rock, without hesitation Gollum quickly begins making his way back to Frodo who is still trying to catch his breath from the attack. Before he can reach him however Sam charges in and tackles him to the ground sending the two rolling down the rocks.

Back at the other battle Eomer punches one Orc across the face with his sword hand before turning to his left and bashing another Orc across the face with his shield; Aragorn cuts down another Orc while Gimli wielding a single-sided axe swings it one across an Orcs face taking it out. Utilizing his bow for close range combat Legolas knocks one Orc down and turns to block another Orcs sword before countering and striking it across the face with the bottom end of the bow. Pippin drives his sword into an Orcs chest while Gimli with a battle cry twirls his axe around before striking down another Orc, nearby Merry swings his sword cutting another Orc down.

Ducking to his right Natsu slams his fire coated fist across an Orcs face before turning and slamming it into another Orc sending it flying back, with her whip coiled up due to there being no room for her to swing it around Lucy uses it to block an Orcs sword before kneeing it in the stomach making it bend over as she then elbows the Orc in the back of the head. Around her Loke and Capricorn aid Lucy and the others in battle throwing punches and kicks at every Orc that attacks them. Erza cuts another Orc across the chest and turns to her left to block another Orcs sword holding her's sideways, pushing the Orcs sword away as she brings hers back and swings it down cutting the Orc down its body. Gray drives one of his two Ice Swords into an Orcs chest while nearby Gajeel swings his Iron sword down cutting another Orc down its body; Wendy swings her left arm producing a small blast of wind to send three orcs flying back through the air.

Aragorn cuts another Orc down. Just then, the Nazgul riding their fellbeasts appear flying through the air towards the Black Gate.

Gollum throws Sam off him into a rock, before Sam can do anything Gollum grabs his head and slams it against rock again causing more pain and also dazing him. Just then Gollum throws his head forward and bites at Sam's throat causing the hobbit to cry out in pain, before he can do anything Lily quickly flies in and shifts into Battle Mode, grabbing Gollum by the head and pulling him away from Sam before throwing him at a rock. Hitting the rock hard Gollum roars out in pain and looks back forward to see Lily charging him with his sword in hands, swinging his sword down Gollum is able to react in time and throw himself out of the way making the sword strike the rock. Looking to his right Lily is unable to act in time as Gollum launches himself onto his shoulders and grab ahold of his head, dropping his sword because of it Lily begins stumbling around while grabbing Gollum and attempts to pull him off but to no avail as Gollum keeps resisting and keeping his hold on Lily's head.

Trying all he can, Gollum is able to steer Lily towards a massive rock and once close enough bashes him on the head with his left fist making him lose his grip as Gollum then jumps off and kicks Lily in the back of the head sending him face first into the rock and knocking him to the ground as Lily unfortunately shifts back into his normal body groaning in pain while holding his head. Turning around to try and get back at Frodo, Gollum is once again attacked this time by a charging Happy and Carla as they both shoulder ram right into him sending him flying back into another rock as quickly the two Exceeds fly towards him and grab ahold of both his arms in an attempt to pin him against the rock.

"We won't let you stop Frodo!" Happy states as Gollum squirms in his grasp.

"That Ring is getting destroyed, all of this is gonna end!" Carla also states while also trying her best to keep him pinned.

Gollum roars out in anger "Out of my way you stupid, kitties!" Gollum yells in anger as his strength overpowers their weakened states allowing him to throw Carla off his arm sending her crashing into a rock as she yelps out in pain and falls to the ground, her wings disappearing.

"Carla!" Happy cries out, only for him to get grabbed in the back of the head by Gollum's free hand as he tosses him at the same rock Carla crashed into landing right next to her as she attempts to recover "Happy!" she yells upon seeing him land, his face wincing from the pain coursing through his body.

Gollum grabs a rock and begins crawling over to the two downed Exceeds with the intent to finish them off as Carla crawls over to Happy, before he can reach them however Sam jumps in his way with his sword drawn and swings it cutting across Gollum's stomach but not deep enough to kill him. Nevertheless the cut across his stomach is enough to drive Gollum back as he holds his stomach crying out in pain.

Turning around Sam's eyes widen when he spots something "Frodo!" his friend running up the side of the mountain as fast as he could towards the door into Mount Doom as Sam quickly starts running after him. "Come on Happy, we need to go too." Carla says helping Happy to his feet as the two Exceeds also give chase after Frodo as fast as possible, Lily not that far behind after grabbing his sword and sheathing it away.

Back at the Gate, Gandalf swings his sword into an Orc's stomach and pulls it aside cutting across it to block another Orc's sword from above, pushing it down and swinging upwards to cut up the Orc's face as Legolas swings one of his elven daggers side to side cutting down two more orcs while Erza with both her elven swords equipped, drives both of them into an Orc on both her sides. Cutting another Orc down Gandalf is suddenly drawn towards to the sky by the screeching roars of the incoming fellbeasts as one of them flies directly towards him. The battle continuing to rage around him as the Men of the West fight bravely against the overwhelming number of Orcs, Gandalf finds himself frozen in place unable to move until suddenly, a familiar moth begins fluttering around in the air in front of him catching his attention. As it flies away he looks up again, and just as the fellbeast is about to attack, a great eagle appears as the six meter tall giant bird collides into the fellbeast stopping its attack and making it turn its focus away from the soldiers and to the eagle.

"Eagles." Pippin says in shock and awe upon seeing one of the legendary great eagle's as a smile of hope comes to his face "The eagles are coming!" he shouts.

And from the sky behind the armies, five more Great Eagles descend and begin attacking the Nazgul and their Fellbeasts in an attempt to keep them away from the troops on the ground, one of the Eagle's even succeeding in knocking both a Ringwraith off its fellbeast and then the fellbeast itself into the Orc forces at the back.

Back at Mount Doom Sam and the Exceeds continue after Frodo crawling up the side of the volcano as fast as they could, as Sam raised his head and looked up he could see as Frodo reached the plateau leading to the entrance and ran through the doorway.

 _A Few Minutes Later…_

Reaching the doorway and walking in after him, Sam and the Exceeds now found themselves in the very heart of Mount Doom, a walkway of rock before them as they stumbled across it through the extremely scorching hot room as the powerful winds inside the volcano blew the hot air upwards and around the group also producing a thick cloud of smoke that could not be seen through "Frodo!" Sam calls out trying to find out where he is.

Just as the smoke begins clearing up a little in front of them revealing Frodo at the far end of the walkway on a small, circular plateau overlooking the lava below as he turns around "I'm here Sam." he calls back.

"So...hot…" Happy says barely able to stand the heat as it was outside, but now in his current state the inside heat was just unbearable.

"Destroy it!" Sam cries out.

Cradling the Ring in his hands, Frodo grabs the chain in his left hand and hangs it over the edge. This was it, the time had finally come to destroy the One Ring and all Frodo had to do, was drop it. "Come on Frodo!" Carla yells.

"Drop it!" Lily yells.

"Destroy the Ring Frodo!" Happy yells.

"Go on! Now! Throw it in the fire!" Sam yells again.

Frodo however has a terrified look in his eyes as he breathes hard and heavily looking at the Ring and then down into the lava which was flowing below like a river, a look of unsureness now appearing on his face "What are you waiting for? Just let it go!" Sam says.

Just then, the world around Frodo goes deaf as he begins hearing Sauron's voice once again in his head as he looks at the Ring, his face going into a blank expression as he just stares, and stares, at the Ring, the light of the lava glistening off the gold Ring of Power. Sam and the Exceeds continue looking on waiting for Frodo to do something, but the fact that he wasn't, was beginning to worry them very much "What's he doing?" Happy wonders.

"Frodo?" Carla calls out.

Frodo turns around, and the look one could describe as when a person becomes completely obsessive, and greedy over a certain thing, appears "The Ring is mine." Frodo says.

The Exceeds eyes widen in complete shock as Frodo yanks the Ring off the chain, "No. No." Sam says shaking his head with a look of despair in his eyes as he couldn't believe what his best friend was doing. Frodo inched the Ring closer to placing it on his finger as a sinister grin came to his face, and he placed it on turning completely invisible "NO~!" Sam cries out.

"Frodo~!" Happy cries out in shock and pain as Carla and Lily can only stand frozen in place with their eyes still widened in complete, and absolute shock.

As if he could sense this the Eye of Sauron turned from the Black Gate towards Mount Doom, shining right on the entrance into the volcano; next were the Ringwraiths who turned their Fellbeast away from the battle and began flying back towards Mount Doom. Gandalf looked on with a look of pain in his eyes, fearing that something wrong has happened to Frodo as that could be the only reason for Sauron and the Nazgul to have turned their attention away from the battle, as Natsu also watches the Nazgul fly off with a shocked look in his eyes like he could also sense something was happening.

Sam and the Exceeds looked around trying to find Frodo so they could find a way to stop him, however before they could Gollum suddenly reappeared behind Sam slugging him on the back of the head with a rock knocking him to the ground. Hearing this the Exceeds turned around, too weak now to even shift into his Battle Mode Lily grabbed his sword and launched himself at Gollum, only for him to get backhanded and sent flying into Happy and Carla knocking all of them to the ground. A crazed look in his eyes Gollum began looking around for Frodo, spotting his footprints as they appeared in the dirt wherever he stepped.

Taking notice of this Gollum drops the rock and charges in, jumping right onto Frodo even though he was invisible as Frodo could be heard struggling to get Gollum off while Gollum appeared to be trying to find the finger with the Ring on it.

Back at the battle Aragorn knocked and Orc's sword aside and drove his into its stomach before headbutting another charging Orc to his right. Turning and cutting another Orc down Aragorn stops in his tracks when he hears the roar of a troll from behind him, and upon turning around there was indeed a troll facing him just a few feet away. Heavily armored and wielding a massive sword in its right hand as it roared again and charged him, the King of Gondor engaging the massive war beast as he blocked its sword and went on the defense. Blocking every sword swing the troll threw at him getting in a few strikes on its unprotected areas, unfortunately however Aragorn finds himself unable to get any good hits in due to all the armor and for the ones he did they barely fazed the monster; as the battle between the two continued around them the Men and Orcs not wanting to get involved were literally pushing everyone behind them back.

Back inside Mount Doom, Gollum continued holding onto Frodo looking for where the finger with the Ring was, Sam and the Exceeds still down, dazed and weakened from just about everything at this point as they tried their best to get up but just had no strength left to do anything. Finally Gollum found a hold on a finger and bit down on it, hard as he tore the finger off causing Frodo to reappear as it was the finger with the Ring on it as Frodo cried out in absolute pain. Falling onto his knees clutching his left hand as blood spilled out from where his index finger used to be as behind him Gollum was now hopping around joyously now that he gotten the Ring back.

The troll roared again and swung its hand, backhanding Aragorn sending him flying and causing him to lose his sword as he hit the ground facing downward. Legolas seeing this looked on in wide eyes of fear and tried making his way over to him. Luckily however before the troll could even get close to him Natsu appeared between it and Aragorn "Don't worry Aragorn, I got this punk!" Natsu says launching himself forward and igniting his fist **"Crushing Fang of the Fire Dragon!"** he yells delivering the claw-like strike against the troll's face sending it twisting to its left to the ground face first.

"Now to finish you off, **Iron Fist-** " however, before Natsu can deliver the punch a sudden surge of pain courses through his body making his eyes wince and his teeth clench in pain _"Dammit, not now!"_ he says in his head.

Unfortunately, Natsu making a full recovery was not true at all. Even after Wendy healed him every now and then since waking up from his battle against the Witch-King, Natsu found himself experiencing very strong surges of pain shoot throughout his body. An indication that he had not yet fully recovered from the battle against the Lord of the Nazgul, however he knew he couldn't let this get in his way and thus decided to keep it to himself. Now however; with Natsu frozen in the air trying to fight off the pain coursing through his body, the troll was able to recover as it spun around and backhanded Natsu, sending him flying far back through the air, crashing and skipping across the ground for a few feet until coming to a stop face forward. Seeing this Lucy's eyes widened in shock as she cried out "Natsu!"

Frodo cried out in absolute pain as he fell to his side still holding his left hand, the index finger gone as blood now seeped out from it all over his hand.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -**_ _**Mount Doom (Skip to 3:00))**_

Gollum takes the ring off Frodo's finger and tosses it aside as he raises the Ring into the air, an open smile of absolute joy on his face as he stares at his precious.

Natsu groans in pain while still on the ground and tries picking himself up, the pain still surging through his body when he suddenly picks up heavy footsteps heading towards him from behind. Turning his head he sees as the troll makes its way towards him getting closer and closer, seeing this Lucy pushes an Orc out of her way and attempts to run to him to help him out, unfortunately a Gondor soldier and Orc get in her way along with all the other soldiers and Orcs still fighting between her and him as she finds herself unable to do anything but cry out his name in terror. The world completely silent while all of this is happening.

Gollum lowers his arm and extends both out to his sides as he begins crying out in a triumphant manner "Yes!" as Frodo looks towards him, Gollum then begins jumping up and down while spinning around in place continuing to shout "Yes! Precious! Precious!"

With hatred in his eyes Frodo gets back to his feet while Sam and the Exceeds, still downed raise their heads and look forward "Precious! Precious!" to see as Frodo begins making his way to Gollum who is too overjoyed with reclaiming the Ring that he fails to notice Frodo approaching him. Upon getting close to him Frodo launches himself forward and grabs Gollum's hand, finally catching his attention as the two now begin wrestling for control of the Ring.

The troll roars down at Natsu and raising its right foot, slams it down on Natsu as he tries getting up, "Dammit! Get the hell off of me!" Natsu shouts in anger bursting his entire body into flames making the troll roar out in pain. In anger at this, the troll raises brings its foot back and decides to instead swing its sword down towards Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes widening at seeing this as he quickly reacts and manages to just barely catch the flat sides of the blade in his hands as he now finds himself in a struggle to keep the sword from cutting him in half.

Back inside Mount Doom, Gollum and Frodo continue fighting for possession of the Ring, failing to notice that they are both dangerously close to the edge until suddenly, they both fall off.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -**_ _**Mount Doom )**_

Gollum is seen falling, a still joyous smile on his face with the One Ring still in his hand as he then cradled it against his chest, that is until he finally hit the hard surface of the lava making him realize where he was as his entire body began melting and sinking into the molten rock. In a last ditch effort to try and protect his precious he raised his arm into the air but to no avail as his face, and his arm finally sank beneath the lava. The Ring began to follow but then suddenly instead stopped and seemed to instead just sit right on top of the lava like it was a floor.

Gathering his weakened strength once more, Sam was able to get up and walk over to the edge of the platform and looking down, spotted Frodo just barely managing to hold onto the ledge of the rock a few feet below. Dropping onto his stomach Sam began reaching down to try and grab Frodo's closest hand "Give me your hand!" Sam urges, however a hesitant and saddened look is seen in Frodo's eyes.

Back below suddenly the runes of the One Ring appeared around and inside it. "Take my hand!" Sam cries out again.

This time Frodo does so throwing his left hand up in an attempt to grab Sam's hand, however all the blood that covers his hand makes it slippery and hard for him to get a firm grasp on Sam as his arm falls back down "No!" Sam cries out.

As if Mount Doom could sense what was in its lava, or on top for that matter, the air in the room began suddenly picking up and the lava stirring up like crazy as falling rocks splashed molten rock into the air. Frodo looked down at the lava, and then back up at Sam, the look in his eyes saying something that Sam did not want him to do "Don't you let go. Don't let go." Sam pleads, still holding his hand out "Reach!" he cries out once more.

As if he was finally snapped out of throwing his life away because of what he did, Frodo throws his hand up and manages to firmly grasp Sam's who grabs his as hard as he could so he would not slip again. Just then, Happy, Carla, and Lily flew in on their wings and wrapped their arms around Frodo's other arm "We got you two Frodo!" Happy says.

"We're getting out of here!" Carla says.

"All of us!" Lily says.

The three Exceeds and Sam giving it their all to lift Frodo off the ledge and back onto the platform. Below them, after a few more seconds, the Ring finally gave away and melted into the lava.

* * *

Suddenly the Eye of Sauron seems to erupt in, pain? Its eye growing a little as the fire intensifies and a screech and roar that definitely sounds like absolute pain comes from it. The screech echoes out for miles in all directions and even reaches the black gate causing the troll pinning Natsu down to stop its attack and look back towards the eye, without a second Natsu takes the chance to blast himself upwards and deliver a **"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"** into the back of the troll's head sending it face first into the ground. "Stupid troll!" Natsu angrily says.

"Natsu!" Lucy calls out to him making him turn as she runs up to his side.

Its only then do the two look towards where the screeching sound is coming from as almost immediately the fighting begins to stop. Men and Orc alike begin to stop fighting looking towards the Eye of Sauron, Gandalf, Legolas, Aragorn, Erza, Gray, Wendy, everyone is now drawn towards the Eye wondering why it was acting like that, even stranger was that some of the Orcs were actually beginning to run away for some reason. As everyone looks towards the Eye, the dark clouds above begin swirling around towards it, next thing that happens, the tower of Barad-dur begins collapsing beneath the eye. The Eye of Sauron noticing this begins looking around frantically almost as if it was in shock.

 _ **(Insert Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -**_ _**Cracks of Doom (Skip to 1:30))**_

Seeing this begins to bring tears to Gandalf's eyes as everyone else continues to stare on in absolute shock at what they were seeing. The Eye continues looking around as Barad-dur continues collapsing, until suddenly the Eye shrinks down into a little orb of light, and explodes outwards creating a massive shockwave destroying the land and sending dust and debris flying for miles in all directions in Mordor.

"Frodo~! Frodo~!" Merry begins crying out in absolute joy as Gimli can be seen chuckling with a grin on his face, same for Gajeel with his toothy grin.

The shockwave can be seen traveling for miles as then all of a sudden, the land between Barad-dur and where the Men of the West stand begins collapsing into the earth. At this the Orcs are now in full retreat and even in a complete state of panic, thousands of Orcs are unable to get to safety and go with the collapsing land and gate into the dark abyss below while a least a couple hundred manage to escape but are too terrified to continue the fight and just run away, leaving the heroes and remaining Men of the West soldiers behind as they continue to look on in shock and awe.

Just as everything finally seems to be done and over, the top of Mount Doom suddenly explodes. At this, Merry becomes frozen in place, Aragorn looks on, tears go down Gandalf's eyes as Erza and Gray look on all of them with shock and horror in their eyes. The surviving Nazgul and Fellbeast attempt to escape the flying debris from the explosion of Mount Doom but are unable too as one fellbeast is seen getting struck by the flying debris. Gajeel stares on wide-eyed as does Gimli, Pippin is on his knees crying mouth Frodo's name, tears stream down Wendy's eyes as she also falls to her knees. Lucy looks on in horror before looking at Natsu and noticing the same look in his eyes; after all, if Frodo was in there, so were the Dragon Slayers' Exceeds.

"L-Lily…" Gajeel says.

"Carla." Wendy whimpers.

Natsu takes a step forward "HAPPY~!" he cries out.

However, back inside Mount Doom both Hobbits and Exceeds are fine, well, if they can get out of the collapsing volcano that is as the group begin running like crazy as the walkway begins giving away beneath forcing them to jump each and every time a part of it collapses beneath them. At the same time the lava not only intensifies but also begins rising at a fast rate to make things even more dangerous. The group manage to make it out of the mountain but are still not safe yet as the lava comes pouring out right after them. Knowing they don't have any chance at outrunning it they find themselves fortunate enough that a slab of rock big enough to fit all five of them on it and sticking far out enough that the lava won't reach them is right in front of them. The Hobbits and Exceeds launch themselves forward and onto it just as the lava barely reaches them and begins going down the side.

 _ **(End Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -**_ _**Cracks of Doom)**_

All of Mount Doom is now covered in flowing lava and fireballs blasting out from the top. While Sam helps Frodo up Lily, and Carla help Happy to his feet as the group walk a few feet forward, Frodo trying to catch his breathe while sweating like crazy, a look of major relief in his eyes as he looks out into Mordor "It's gone…" Sam and the Exceeds look up at him "It's done." he says.

"Yes Mr. Frodo...It's over now." Sam says also catching his breathe as he looks at him.

"Finally…" Carla says, her and the other two also trying to catch their breathe.

"About time." Lily says.

"A-Aye…" Happy says.

Suddenly the ground shakes beneath them taking them all off guard as they quickly act and climb farther out on the rock for safety before collapsing onto their backs.

"Hey, Happy, Carla, Lily...don't suppose you guys...have any strength left or something to carry us out of here?" Sam asks.

"After everything we've been through now, and considering how we're starving, dehydrated and just too tired to even summon our wings for a full two minutes...unfortunately we have nothing." Lily says.

Sam sits himself up and lets out a sigh of defeat "Yeah, guess it was a stupid hope to ask for." he says.

Frodo continues lying on his back with his eyes closed "I can see the Shire...The Brandywine River...Bag End...Gandalf's fireworks. The lights in the Party Tree." Frodo says.

"Rosie Cotton dancing...She had ribbons in her hair...If ever I was to marry someone...it would've been her. It would've been her." Sam says now on the verge of tears as Frodo opens his eyes and looks at his friend with a saddened look in his eyes.

Sitting himself up as Sam begins crying, Frodo puts his right arm around his shoulders and puts his forehead to his "I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee...here at the end of all things." Frodo says as a tear falls down his right eye before raising his other arm to hug Sam.

"Fairy Tail...Natsu...Mira's Cooking…" Happy says also on the verge of tears.

"I guess...it's been a good journey." Lily says closing his eyes, seemingly accepting his fate as he lets out a sigh "Can only hope Gajeel will be alright without me. Hmph, then again, I guess knowing Levy she'll be there to help take care of him." Lily says with a small smile.

"Poor Wendy...I guess at the most, she still has Lucy and everyone else at the guild that will take care of her in my place. Wendy, you'll become a strong, and brave mage one day, I know you will." Carla says with saddened eyes, before suddenly turning to look at Happy. "Happy." she says catching his attention.

"Just so you know, I guess...if I did have to die early, at least you're here, by my side." she says.

Happy is taken aback by this "Carla?" Happy says confused by what she meant. Carla then leans on Happy's shoulder and cuddles up against him, rubbing the side of his face with her head leaving Happy even more shocked. Until a small smile comes to his face and he leans down on her head as the two close their eyes, small smiles on both their faces.

 _Time Passes…_

It is unknown how long it has been, the lava continues flowing down around the Hobbits and Exceeds, all of whom are passed out on the rock. The light of the sun finally begins breaking through the dark clouds that begin dispersing over Mordor, just then, from the light five familiar looking shadows appear flying towards the Hobbits and Exceeds. The Great Eagles caw as Gandalf is seen riding on the lead Eagle, the White Wizard spotting the Hobbits and Exceeds as one by one the eagles descend down with the eagle Gandalf's riding going down first and picking up Frodo in its right claw. The second eagle flies in and picks Sam up in its claw as well before flying off, the third eagle descends and picks up Happy with its beak, the fourth, and fifth the same coming down to pick up Carla, and then finally Lily in their beaks as well as the eagles take back off away from Mount Doom.

Frodo regains consciousness, but is too tired to even recognize what is going on as he slowly looks around before passing right back out as everything goes white…

* * *

 **FINALLY! OH~, MAN I AM SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME THIS LONG!**

 **Really, really sorry that this chapter took so long to publish. Unfortunately college has started back up so now it's back to balancing time out with that, videos, and stories. So yeah, that and with Destiny 2, and the CoD WWII Beta coming out recently, and the fact I've been collabing a lot more with other YouTubers, in all I really did not get a lot of time to work on my stories when I needed to. But hopefully I can change that as I work to get my homework assignments done early and out of the way so I can clear that stuff up a little from college so I can then work more on my stories!**

 **And I've decided to change the whole keeping you guys in the dark and everything waiting for the next chapter. So, I've decided to do something about that so maybe you guys could stay even more up to date with my stories and whatnot. If you've been on my profile recently, you'll see that I've added in pretty much all of my social media accounts from Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, so IF you guys want to keep even more up to date with my stories, start following me on those and...well yeah if you guys do that then I'll definitely start posting regular updates on all of them for you guys to see so you know what's going on and whatnot. And better, I've decided to go and create my own Discord Server!**

 **If you guys know what Discord is then cool, if not then pretty much it's a free app for texting and chatting, its mostly used for gamers (like me) but it can also be used for other stuff as well. So obviously I've gone and created my own server not only for my YouTube Videos for people to keep updated on, but also for all of you guys on here to keep up to date with my FanFiction stories both old and new! So if you want the link to my Discord Server will be on my Deviantart page, and YouTube Channel, or you could DM me on here and I'll see if I can get you the link through that.**

 **Again sorry it took so long to get this out, hopefully it doesn't take so long for the long awaited FINAL CHAPTER to this amazing story, and again if you guys want to stay more up to date with everything I do from my videos (if you enjoy those) to my stories, then come follow me on social media, and join my Discord Server!**

 **Now then, onto…**

 **Q &A…**

To **Phoenix Knight -** Okay...good ideas some of them, however there are some issues. Like 1) I've only ever watched the recent Sentai Series from Gokaiger-Kyuuranger, plus Go-Onger since I'm more for the Power Rangers on the other series and just can't find subs for the earlier series. And 2) I've only ever played Final Fantasy X, never any of the others, I do have 15 but have yet to play or beat it so doing all of those will unfortunately be impossible for me to do so sorry. Same for Kamen Rider, I've only watched Kuuga-Agito, and then Decade-Build but again, same for FF for those, impossible without playing the games and whatnot.

To **Clare Prime of Ultra -** I will when I can, I watch a lot of stuff so it's always hard keeping track of what series to watch, and series I want to check out.


	21. Home

Happy is seen passed out in the middle of a bed, Carla on his left, and Lily his right, as then Happy is the first one to stir. Opening his eyes slowly as at first he is met with nothing but bright light making him raise his right paw up to block it out as he winces his left eye close; his eyes taking a few seconds to adjust to this change in the environment until eventually everything returns to normal. Allowing Happy to see that he was no longer on Mount Doom, but somewhere, well not dark.

"Huh? W-Where am I? Am I...dead?" Happy wonders sitting himself up and looking around. Finding himself in a brightly lit room as he then takes notice of Carla and Lily lying on either side of him. Just as the two of them begin waking up as well, Lily groaning a little as he sits himself up as Carla lets out a breath and sits herself up looking around slowly.

"This definitely isn't Mount Doom...where are we?" Lily questions.

"That's what I was just wondering myself." Happy says.

"Maybe we're somewhere safe? But how did we…" Carla begins to say.

When suddenly the Exceeds pick up running footsteps coming their way and look to their right towards a door as it bursts open, revealing an out of breathe Natsu and Wendy with their heads down "You heard that too, right Natsu-san?" Wendy asks him.

"Yeah, Happy's voice, I know it." Natsu says as the two Dragon Slayers lift their heads up and look at the bed, spotting their completely shocked Exceed partners who cannot believe just who they are seeing.

"W-Wendy?" Carla says, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"N-Natsu?" Happy also says still in shock.

"They are awake!" Natsu cries out in excitement.

"Carla!" Wendy cries out overjoyed running towards the bed as Carla clenches her teeth full of happiness and launches herself off the bed crying out "Wendy!" The two embracing each other as Wendy spins Carla around with both of them crying their eyes out, completely full of happiness at seeing each other again after so long, of course they aren't the only ones.

"Happy!"

"Natsu!" both Natsu and Happy cry out as Natsu runs towards the bed, Happy spreading his wings and flying into Natsu's arms as the two partners hug each other just like the girls. Seeing this brings a smile to Lily's face, as he then takes notice of movement at the doorway and looks to see Gajeel standing and leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. Seeing his Dragon Slayer partner being his usual tough self, Lily can't help but play along as he chuckles and nods his head at him, Gajeel returning the gesture with his signature chuckle and toothy grin as he begins walking over to him.

"Oh Wendy, I was so worried about you!" Carla says as tears stream down her face.

"I was worried for you to Carla, when Gandalf brought you back and I saw how bad you looked I got so scared." Wendy says, tears also traveling down her face.

"I knew you'd be okay! No way any of Sauron's goons could have taken you down!" Happy says.

"Hehe of course not. None of them were even close to being on my level!" Natsu says.

More footsteps are heard approaching the doorway quickly as then one by one Lucy, Gray, and Erza enter the room, relieved looks coming to their faces upon seeing the Dragon Slayers and their Exceed partners reuniting. Happy takes notice of them and cries out "Lucy! Gray! Erza!" joyfully.

"Glad to see you're all okay, Happy, Carla, Lily." Lucy says with a smile on her face.

"Welcome back." Gray says.

Erza walks up a few feet "From what Sam has told us, you three performed very well in protecting both him and Frodo. Well done." Erza says.

"Sam's okay too?!" Happy asks excitedly hearing the Hobbit was okay.

"Woke up just a couple minutes before you did. Now, we're just waiting on Frodo, but it's good knowing that you are all making swift recoveries." Erza says.

Happy and Carla both chuckle with open smiles and look at each other, after a few seconds Carla's face drops like she's beginning to remember something as then her mouth turns into a wavy line and her cheeks begin blushing like crazy. Seeing this takes Happy aback at first wondering why she's blushing, until he remembers that in a way, back on Mount Doom, Carla did in a way proclaim her love for him. Remembering this Happy's cheeks begin blushing as well.

Natsu hums as he looks down noticing Happy and Carla looking at each other "What's wrong with you two?" he asks.

"NOTHING!" the two Exceeds exclaim at the same time.

Hearing this takes the others aback making them confused by their sudden change in behavior as they look at Lily, though he doesn't have any answers as he shrugs his shoulders. While the others are doing this Happy looks back at Carla, and notices her form a small smile on her lips at him, making him smile brightly at her.

"Everyone." Legolas says entering the room getting their attention "Frodo is awaking." he says.

 _Meanwhile…_

Frodo slowly awoke, finding himself in a brightly lit room wearing a white shirt as he sat himself up, and paused. In front of him, Gandalf who he thought had died back in Moria as Gandalf looked down at him with a blank stare "Gandalf?" Frodo asked as a smile began appearing on his face.

At this a smile forms on Gandalf's face as he begins chuckling before erupting into a wholeheartedly laugh, something Frodo joins in on as well as he begins laughing in joy as well. Just then he hears the door open and looks over to see Merry and Pippin nearly burst into the room, the two stopping at the door as Merry shouts "Frodo!" with smiles of joy coming to his and Pippin's faces. Frodo becomes shocked but once again overjoyed to see two more of his dear friends as the two Hobbits run over and jump onto his bed, hopping up and down on their knees just full of joy and happiness at seeing Frodo again as Gandalf continues laughing.

As Frodo hugs Merry another familiar face appears in the doorway in the form of Gimli, the dwarf crying out happily with his arms outstretched "Gimli!" Frodo says. Gimli laughs for a few seconds while clapping his hands as he begins walking over, almost immediately Legolas appears next in the doorway giving a smile to Frodo before walking in. Frodo is happy to see his elf friend as then next coming is, is the Fairy Tail members as Natsu with Happy on his shoulder, Lucy, Wendy with Carla in her arms, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel with Lily on his shoulder, one by one walk in with smiles on their faces also laughing and chuckling away. The smile of complete happiness remains on Frodo's face as he is glad to see the Fairy Tail mages, as then next to enter the room is Aragorn who after a few seconds gives a toothy smile before approaching.

While the Hobbits continue bouncing away on the bed, Aragorn, Natsu and the others gather around the bed and Frodo completely overjoyed to be seeing him alive and well again. Finally, one more person enters the room, Sam. As Frodo's eyes land on him, the two exchange smiles at one another, both of them glad that they were safe, and back with their friends.

* * *

The sun shines brightly over Minas Tirith, the entire city rebuilt anew with the scars of war all but gone as today, was a very special day. At the very top on the Citadel, the citizens of Minas Tirith and soldiers from both Gondor and Rohan alike have gathered en masse, for the crowning the new King. At the door leading to the throne room, Gimli stands off to the side with a pillow in his hands as Gandalf takes from it the King's crown, raising it high into the air before slowly placing it on Aragorn's head "Now come the days of the King." he announces.

Aragorn adorned in his new royal clothing and armor while kneeling down, looks up and smiles at him "May they be blessed." Gandalf says looking down at him before taking a few steps back.

Standing up, Aragorn takes in a deep breath as he accepts the role he was destined to become, King of Gondor. Taking a few steps up to the top he turns around to face the people, who all break out into a roar of cheers and applause as the soldiers stand at their positions with their spears and shields up "This day does not belong to one man, but to all...Let us together rebuild this world, that we may share in the days of peace." Aragorn says, causing the crowd to once again erupt in cheers and applause.

Off to right side by the edge were the Fairy Tail members also applauding for Aragorn. Suddenly out of nowhere the petals of the White Tree began blowing and falling all over the place, amongst the crowd was also a fully recovered Faramir and Eowyn, the two standing happily next to each other since the two had apparently fallen in love with each other during their respective recovering process. As the citizens continue clapping with the soldiers looking happily up at their new king, Aragorn begins singing slowly in Quenya a song that long ago his forefather Elendil, once sung when his feet first touched the lands of Middle-Earth, silencing the crowd.

" _ **Et Eärello,**_

 _ **Endorenna utúlien...**_

 _ **Sinome maruvan,**_

 _ **ar Hildinyar,**_

 _ **tenn' Ambar-metta~."**_

Aragorn begins walking down the aisle, Faramir and Eowyn bow towards as he walks by them as then Eomer walks out and bows to him as well with Aragorn returning the bow. Looking back forward, Aragorn approaches Legolas and the group of Elves that stand behind him as they approach. Stopping after a few seconds the two place their left hands on each other's right shoulder _"Thank you."_ Aragorn says in elvish.

Legolas lets out a humorous huff holding back a small smile, as he then steps aside allowing Aragorn to look at a white colored Gondor flag being held by someone, and that someone as they move the flag away, turns out to be Arwen. The love of his life healthy and fully recovered from Sauron's magic that was draining her life away, Elrond standing behind her as Aragorn stares on in disbelief. Stepping beside her almost on the verge of tears, Elrond quietly ushers his daughter forward as she begins approaching Aragorn who approaches her as well, the look of disbelief still present on his face.

Stopping just a little inches away from each other, Arwen gives Aragorn a curtsy as Aragorn puts his left hand to her chin and raises her head up slowly. After a few seconds of nothing but silence, Aragorn and Arwen embrace and kiss each other, causing the crowd to start clapping away once more at the happy couple as everyone looks on with joyous smiles on their faces. Seeing the strong love between Aragorn and Arwen, Natsu and Lucy couldn't help but share quick glances and smiles at each other before looking back forward and then clenching their hands together. Elrond meanwhile looks on with a saddened, but also happy smile on his face at seeing how happy his daughter was with Aragorn; the two share a few more quick kisses and caress each other's face until Arwen giggles and hugs Aragorn who hugs her back.

Finally, the two make their way through the crowd who moves aside while bowing forward in respect to them, as the King and his soon to be Queen approach the four Hobbits. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin bow forward in respect, however "My friends…" Aragorn speaks up taking a few steps towards them gaining their attention.

"...you bow to no one." Aragorn says shaking his head.

Just as he, followed by Arwen, and immediately the rest of the crowd, kneel down to the Hobbits, in thanks for all that they have done for Middle-Earth. At seeing all these people bowing for them, the Hobbits are completely taken aback by this great honor they are receiving.

Even the Fairy Tail wizards are on their knees to give the respect the Hobbits deserve, opening his eyes to look at the ground, Natsu squints his eyes upon noticing a small orb of light suddenly appear from the ground. "Hey, Lucy." Natsu quietly says trying to catch her attention.

"Not now Natsu." Lucy whispers trying to remain quiet so as to not be disrespectful and disrupt things.

Looking back at the ground Natsu notices more, and more small orbs of light start appearing and float upwards around him and his fellow mages. "Lucy." Natsu says again.

"Natsu whatever it is it can-"

"Would you just look!" Natsu quietly says.

Listening to him Lucy opens her eyes, and is taken aback by the sight of the glowing orbs of light surrounding her and her teammates as then one by one the other members of Fairy Tail begin taking notice of them as well. Before they can begin to question what is going on, a bright flash of light erupts from the ground blinding the mages for a second making them shoot up to their feet. This of course catches the attention of everyone on the Citadel as all the civilians near the Fairy Tail mages quickly back up out of fear, while Aragorn, the Hobbits, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf quickly begin making their way over to them stopping just a few feet away as a circle of white light now surrounds Team Natsu.

"Now what? Natsu what did you do?" Gimli questions.

"What?! I didn't do anything!" Natsu states.

"This circle of light. It looks and feels so...familiar." Gray says looking at the light now surrounding him and the others.

"This light…" Erza says also looking around while trying to remember why this looked so familiar, until it finally hit her "This light! It's the same one that brought us to Middle-Earth in the first place!" she says making the Fellowship and members of Team Natsu look at her in shock and awe.

"She's right...Erza's right! This is the same magic circle that was created when we read that request!" Lucy says.

"Then, that means…" Gajeel says.

"We're going home!" Wendy shouts full of joy understanding what was happening.

"We're finally going home!" Carla says as smiles of joy cross every member of Team Natsu's faces.

"We're finally going to return to Fairy Tail!" Happy cries out with his paws raised.

"Hmph, how do you like that? The magic waited for us to at least be present at Aragorn's crowning before sending us back." Lily says.

And then, it finally dawned upon the members on what was about to fully happen. They were about to return home alright, but at the same time, that meant that they were never going to see Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, or any of their other friends of Middle-Earth, ever again. Making them look up at Aragorn and the others who all had smiles on their faces, the members of the Fellowship happy that their friends from another world were going to finally return home where they truly belonged. The mages of Fairy Tail exchanged looks with one another before returning the smiles back to the members of the Fellowship "I am happy for all of you, after all you have done you deserve this. Thank you, for all you have done for the people of Middle-Earth. For helping us in our darkest of times, if it had not been for you, who knows what would have become of Middle-Earth. For ones so young as all of you, you all make great warriors. The memories you have left for the people of this land, will truly never be forgotten." Aragorn says.

"And we will never forget you either. Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Gimli. The memories and bonds we have created with you will forever be in our hearts. Even though you are not mages, well, except of course for you Gandalf, you all would have made fine and powerful members of Fairy Tail." Erza says.

"Do you think, we'll ever see you again?" Pippin asks.

The Fairy Tail mages exchange looks with one another before looking back with saddened looks in their eyes "If only traveling to another world were so easy. Unfortunately, this truly may be the last we ever see of you, and Middle-Earth." Erza says, bringing saddened looks to the members of the Fellowship.

"Hey!" Natsu says catching their attention "Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's impossible. You never know. Put it this way, if something ever goes wrong in Middle-Earth again, you can count on Fairy Tail coming to the rescue again to help out old pals in need." he says.

Gandalf smiles "I have no doubt, life does work in mysterious ways when you need it to the most as I would say." he says.

"Then should a time ever come, when one of our worlds is threatened once more, may we fight side by side once more and defeat whatever evil it may be." Aragorn says.

The members of Team Natsu nod their heads in agreement, followed by the members of the Fellowship. Just then the brightness of the light intensifies, signaling that they would be leaving soon as both groups share one last look at one another. Lucy, Wendy, and Happy on the verge of tears as the same for Merry, Pippin, and Gimli. As one last way of saying goodbye, the mages of Fairy Tail, raise their left hands and form their signature hand gesture with their index finger and thumb pointing upwards to the sky; the Fellowship members exchange quick looks with one another, and proceed to recreate the same hand gesture themselves.

The two groups continue staring at one another until finally, the circle of light fully engulfs the mages of Fairy Tail, and as it dies down, they are gone. "Good luck on your future adventures, Fairy Tail." Aragorn says.

* * *

The bright light dies down, and the members of Team Natsu with widened eyes, find themselves back at the same table, in the same positions, in the Fairy Tail guild hall, as when they had left for Middle-Earth. Looking around the group take notice of the exact same members sitting or standing in the exact same spots as when they had left, almost as if nothing had changed during their time in Middle-Earth; but they had been gone for months, heck pretty much a year and a month! Looking at the clock, Lucy took notice of how it was the exact time of when they had left too.

"We're...back...right?" Gray questions.

"I hope we are." Wendy says.

"Everything...everyone...it's all the same as the day we left." Erza says.

"But it couldn't be, we were in Middle-Earth for at least a year." Carla says.

"Could it be? What if the magic sent us right back to the same moment as we left? It could have been a year in Middle-Earth, but here…" Lucy says.

"No time has passed at all." Lily says.

"So...what does that mean? Like did any of the stuff in Middle-Earth happen or?" Gajeel says.

"No, it did happen that's for sure! But man, to send us not only back to our world, but also back in time to when we left...or technically not even left? AW MAN NOW I AM CONFUSED DID WE LEAVE OR DID WE NOT LEAVE?!" Natsu cries out with his hands to his head.

"Well you sure haven't left that's for sure." a familiar voice speaks up from behind the group making them turn to see Mirajane walking towards them with a tray of drinks in her hand, her eyes closed and angelic smile present on her face. "You've all kind of been standing here frozen for the past few minutes, hope you're okay so I thought I'd bring some drinks over." she says.

"Mirajane!" Lucy and Happy cry out in tears of joy at the same time as Wendy cries out "Mira-san!" with the three launching themselves towards and embracing her in a tight hug. Taking her completely off guard as she still manages to keep the tray of drinks still in her hand but with her eyes opened and a confused look on her face.

"Mirajane, we missed you!" Lucy says.

"And we also missed your cooking!" Happy says.

"Uhm, thanks? What's going on and why did you miss me when I was just over at the bar?" Mirajane asks.

"My, my, what's all this racket about I can hear all of you from outside." a familiar voice speaks up from the entrance. Drawing everyone's attention as not only is the person who spoke Master Makarov, but behind him were the rest of their friends from the guild, from Levy and the members of Team Shadow Gear, Cana, Juvia, Laxus and his Thunder God Tribe, Macao, Wakaba, Romeo, the Connell's, everyone who seemed to have returned from their respective missions.

"Everyone! You're back!" Lucy shouts out in surprise.

"I know right, talk about a coincidence how we all finished our jobs and returned at the exact same time. It's really weird." Levy says.

"Gray-sama~! Juvia has returned from her mission safe and sound!" Juvia cries out sliding right towards him taking him aback a bit as he takes a step back creeped out.

"Seriously though, what the hell's going on here?" Laxus questions with a blank stare and his arms crossed.

"Mirajane?" Makarov asks.

"I don't know myself Master. Natsu and the others were all standing at their table doing nothing and then all of a sudden they started blurting out how they missed me even though I was just over at the bar." Mirajane replies.

"Gramps! You should have seen it all, it was so insane! We were all transported to another world, got involved in a big war, made some new friends, and then saved the world by kicking the bad guy's ass and destroying his stupid Ring of Power or whatever! It was all so insane!" Natsu begins yelling excitedly.

"Eh? Really!" Romeo asks with an awed look on his face.

"So you did all of that while standing at a table for a few minutes? Sounds like quite the story." Macao sarcastically says not believing it.

"But it's true! We were transported to another world and when we saved it the magic brought us back to the moment we left! Or, never left, I don't know but it really happened!" Happy says.

"It did!" Wendy says also trying to support the claim it was real.

"Slow down, slow down. What happened? Erza, mind explaining?" Makarov asks turning towards her.

"Of course Master. What happened was we gathered here at the guild ready to do a job, we found a request with strange writing on it-" just then her eyes widened in realization "The request!" Erza says having now found the groups proof that they really did go to another world.

"Of course, there's our proof right there!" Carla says realizing what Erza was getting at as she turned around towards it "Lily bring it over!" she says.

Lily and Gajeel stand on/over the table looking down at it, but with confused looks on their faces "I would, but…" Lily says.

"It's not here!" Gajeel says shocked by this as he looks all around the table but finds no sign of the request paper.

"EH~!" Natsu, Happy, and Lucy cry out in shock hearing this.

"What? But that can't be!" Wendy says also in shock.

"Sounds to me like you're all losing your minds. You sure you all got some good sleep last night and maybe just aren't hallucinating things?" Laxus questions.

"But it...it couldn't have all been a dream. Could it?" Happy says.

"All of us having the exact same dream, come on that's a bit farfetched. Not only that, but, everything we went through, it all felt too real for it to have been a dream." Gray says.

"Don't worry Gray-sama, I believe you even if all the things you're saying sound crazy." Juvia says.

"You guys believed us on the whole thing involving Edoras, why is a whole other world so hard to believe?" Lucy asks.

"Hm~, that is true. But still there's also what Mirajane is saying about how you've all been standing in the same place the past few minutes. Plus with everything that has happened recently it could all just be from all of you not getting enough sleep and not being fully recovered yet from all the fighting. Besides Anima is the only know magic capable of traveling to another world and with Mystogan having of taken care of that I don't see any other sort of magic being powerful enough to summon especially such a specific, small group of mages from out of nowhere. Right now I honestly don't know what to make of this, whether you're crazy or not." Makarov says.

"I say they're crazy." Max humorously says.

"I agree." Warren says with a humorous grin.

"Shut it the both of you!" Natsu angrily says.

Erza closes her eyes "Guess, without any sort of evidence to back our claims up. Perhaps we all did just coincidentally experience the same dream in some kind of way."

The members of Team Natsu, along with Gajeel and Lily let out sighs of defeat since in a way Erza was right, while they believed all the events of Middle-Earth having of happened, without any backup to prove their mission was real they just sounded like a bunch of crazy people now.

Suddenly from out of nowhere a bright flash of light erupts from the table the group of mages had been standing over previously, blinding everyone in the room as they turned towards it. After a few seconds the light died down revealing a very large sack now lying in the center of the table "Huh? Where'd that sack come from?" Lisanna questions curiously.

Walking up to and untying the top of it, Lily reaches and leans into the sack and begins digging through it to see what was inside; coming out a few seconds later and turning around with a smile plastered on his face as in his hands, was a sheathed dagger of the Noldorin, the gift he had received from Galadriel! "It appears we are no longer crazy." he says.

The members of Team Natsu gasp in shock at this "That dagger!" Happy says.

"Could it be!" Lucy says as the group rush over to the sack, the other members of Fairy Tail now drawn over to this out of shock and curiosity, since now it looked like their friends might not have been so crazy about their story after all.

Erza pulls out from the sack "My Elven Swords!" she yells joyously wielding the two weapons in her hands.

"My ribbon!" Carla says.

"My armbands!" Wendy says.

"My...belt." Gray says, still not fully liking the present Galadriel gave him but knowing he couldn't exactly say no or anything bad to her about it.

"My Elven Gittern!" Gajeel says pulling it out and looking at it.

Just then Gray reaches over and tries pulling it away as Gajeel is forced to swing his body around and hold it away from him to protect it "No way that's definitely not staying in your possession give it here!" Gray angrily states.

"Fuck off Nude Boy this is mine!" Gajeel angrily retorts.

"MY FISH!" Happy cries out with tears of joy finding the rare fish in the sack, the fish whole once more like he had never taken a bit out of it, nor Gollum finish it.

Wendy pulls out from the sack an Elven Cloak with the Brooch on it "Look, we even got the cloaks and Brooches she gave to us, every single one of ours are in here!" she says.

"All the gifts Lady Galadriel gave to us are in here!" Happy says already eating away at the fish.

As the members of Team Natsu are happily going over all their gifts, the other members of the guild continue to stare on in shock and awe "What's...going on?" Wakaba questions.

"Wait, mommy, is Natsu and the others crazy?" Asuka asks her mother Bisca.

"Hehe, it appears not sweetie. Looks like Natsu and the others may be telling the truth about whatever crazy adventure they went on in this new world." she says answering her daughter's question.

As everyone else is distracted either going over the gifts or just trying to take all of this in, Natsu is still digging through the sack like crazy, even though its empty, as he attempts to find the pendant for Lucy but to no avail. Taking his head out he then hears "Natsu." and looks up to see Lucy looking at him as she had whispered his name, one of her books on the Elves in her hands as she takes a quick look around before opening the cover slightly. Revealing to Natsu her pendant right inside, safely hidden away.

Seeing this brings a smile to Natsu's face as he looks back up at her, Lucy returning the smile to him as a little blush comes to her cheeks.

"Hold on a second! So just what in the world is going on here?!" Jet yells out silencing everyone.

The Fairy Tail members who had traveled to Middle-Earth, fought in a war making many new friends along the way, and helped to save the world, exchanged looks with one another before looking back at everyone else "It's a long story." they all say at the same time.

* * *

 _Later That Night…_

And after a long night of explaining everything that had transpired from being transported to Middle-Earth, to the end of the war, the crowning of Aragorn, and saying goodbye to their new friends of the Fellowship, the members of Team Natsu had left all of their friends in complete shock and awe at everything they had just heard them go through in this new world. Makarov did of course congratulate them on a job well done saying especially how that mission of theirs very well was something on the level of S-Class, maybe even a One Hundred Year quest in terms of the number of challenges they had to overcome in order to achieve it, and there was a lot of challenges that the group had been through that were close to ending their lives.

As for some of the other responses, most of the members were just sad or angered how they missed out on something as exciting as this, Levy complained heavily to Lucy about getting left out especially on the chance of learning about a whole new history and so much more from another world. Juvia cried how she missed out on this adventure alongside her "beloved Gray-sama" and of course angered by how Lucy was there leading to her once again calling Lucy her "Love Rival", and then there was Laxus who while for the most part was impressed by what the group did, was more neutral on the whole not being transported there thing and showing not a care in the world for getting left out.

Of course since it was now very well past midnight since explaining **everything** about what happened to them in Middle-Earth as well as explaining to the group about their new friends and pretty much what this new world was like, people were beginning to tire. Especially Team Natsu who definitely missed sleeping in their own houses, of course because of what the group had done another wild party was thrown to celebrate their triumph. And while it was fun being back home and partying with everyone again, Lucy didn't last long and eventually decided to call it a night as she made her way out the guild doors.

 _A Few Minutes Later…_

"We'll finish this tomorrow Nudist Moron! When I'm back at my full strength and not tired out from saving a whole other world!" Natsu yells out angrily as he begins storming out the guild hall.

"Yeah, whatever Pyro, tomorrow I'll just kick your ass again!" Gray yells back.

Exiting the building and making his way past the outer gate, Natsu suddenly stops as a smirk comes to his face "I'm here." he says turning to his left as Lucy emerges from the shadows with a smile on her face.

"Took you long enough. I was beginning to think you were going to forget about me and focus on fighting Gray." Lucy humorously says.

Natsu chuckles as he walks up to and wraps his left arm around her lower back pulling her in "Nah, I know what's really important." he says making Lucy giggle as she wraps her arms around his neck. "So, can I spend the night at your apartment, without any restrictions?" Natsu asks.

Lucy turns her head away and hums "Hm~, let me think about it. Yes." she says almost immediately in a humorous style.

The two lean in and kiss each other for a few seconds before pulling away. "Heh, we've sure been through a lot recently." Natsu says.

"Yeah...we sure have. And I can only bet we'll have a lot more challenges to come. We're mages of Fairy Tail after all." Lucy says.

"Yeah...we are. But that doesn't matter. Because whatever challenges gets in our way, we'll face it, together. And beat it together. And no matter what happens, the Dragon will always be there to protect his Princess." Natsu says with a sincere smile.

Lucy smiles sincerely at him as well before cupping his cheeks and planting another kiss on his lips "I think I can say this without a doubt in the world, I love you...Natsu Dragneel." Lucy says.

"Yeah, same here...I love you...Lucy Heartfilia." Natsu says.

Releasing his hold on her, the two turn sideways and grasp each other's hand as they begin making their way back to Lucy's apartment as the light of the full moon shined down upon them in the dark night. The future was still uncertain and the number of enemies Fairy Tail would have to face, unknown. But one thing was certain. Was that whatever challenges laid in their path, Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia, would face them together, just like always, forever.

* * *

 **(Insert Lord of the Rings The Return of the King - Into the West)**

A piece of parchment fills the screen as a drawing of the One Ring is seen on the left side while on the right there is a drawing of the Fairy Tail insignia.

 **The Fairies of the Ring**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 **Story Written By**

 **So-Pro Warrior**

A drawing of Minas Tirith on the left replaces the One Ring while the right side drawing is replaced by a drawing of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall.

 _ **Lay down**_

 **Original Works By**

 **Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (Book Series) & Peter Jackson (Film Series)**

 **Fairy Tail - Hiro Mashima (Magna) & A-1 Pictures (Anime)**

A drawn map of Middle-Earth is seen on the left, and a map of Fiore on the right.

 _ **A sweet and weary head…**_

 _ **Night is falling**_

 **Featuring**

 **Music from**

 **The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack**

 **Fairy Tail Series OSTs**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 _ **You have come**_

 _ **To journey's end…**_

 _ **Sleep now**_

 **and**

 **Into the West**

 **By**

 **Annie Lennox**

A drawing of Natsu appears next as he gives a toothy smile while to the right of him is a drawing of the opened pendant he received from Galadriel.

 _ **And dream**_

 _ **Of the ones who came before**_

 **Starring**

 **Tetsuya Kakihara**

A drawing of Lucy is next as she is giving a small smile with a drawing of Aquarius' key next to her.

 _ **They are calling**_

 **Aya Hirano**

A drawing of Happy is next as he has his left paw in the air and an opened smile on his face with a drawing of his fish beside him. After a few seconds the two disappear and are replaced by a drawing of Frodo with a small smile on his face and his sword Sting beside it.

 _ **From across**_

 _ **The distant shore**_

 **Rie Kugimiya**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 **Elijah Wood**

A drawing of Aragorn appears on the paper with a serious look on his face and the hilt of his sword by his head as there is also a drawing of Minas Tirith's Citadel behind him to the right.

 _ **Why do you weep?**_

 **Viggo Mortensen**

A drawing of Gandalf with a serious look on his face appears next with the tip of his staff to the left of his face and a drawing of him on his horse Shadowfax approaching the gates of Minas Tirith which lie open with two guards standing at the front.

 _ **What are these tears**_

 _ **Upon your face?**_

 **Ian McKellen**

A drawing of Gray is next as he also has a serious look on his face and a drawing of his necklace floating beside his head.

 _ **Soon you will see**_

 **Yuichi Nakamura**

Erza's drawing is next as she has a small smile on her face with an array of her different armors floating beside her head including her Heart Kruez, her Heaven's Wheel Armor, and finally her Black Wing armor.

 _ **All of your fears**_

 _ **Will pass away**_

 **Sayaka Ohara**

A drawing of Legolas with a serious look on his face is shown next with the tip of his bow on his left and a forest on his right, after a few seconds the drawings fade to show Gimli who is smoking a pipe with his right hand up as his index finger and thumb touch, a one-sided axe floating beside his head to the left and on the right was a massive doorway in Moria.

 _ **Safe in my arms**_

 **Orlando Bloom**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 **John Rhys-Davies**

Sam is drawn next with a saddened look in his eyes as the drawing beside him is a dark cave and a silhouetted figure of him and the three Exceeds below as they make their way through it.

 _ **You're only sleeping**_

 **Sean Astin**

Wendy is next as she has a smile on her face with a drawing of her two golden armbands with the Fairy Tail symbol on both being shown and below them was the symbol of her former guild Cait Shelter.

 _ **What can you see**_

 **Satomi Sato**

Next is Carla who has a serious look on her face as to her right is a drawing of her bow, and below that a drawing of her and Happy together as Happy has a paw over her shoulders with her leaning against him with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

 _ **On the horizon?**_

 **Yui Horie**

Gajeel is drawn next with his signature toothy grin on his face with a drawing of his gittern to the right, and below it the symbol of his former guild Phantom Lord, and beneath that was a silhouetted meeting between him and Makarov back when the Master of Fairy Tail invited him to join the guild. Lily is next as he appears with a serious look on his face, his sword to the right and the dagger below as after another few seconds the drawings disappear and are replaced with Pippin as he leans his head down on something with a smile on his face. The drawing to his right of a bridge and three stone towers.

 _ **Why do the white gulls**_

 _ **Call?**_

 **Wataru Hatano**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 **Hiroki Tochi**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 **Billy Boyd**

Merry is drawn next, a serious look on his face as he holds a cup of ale in his right hand as to the right is a drawing of a male statue wielding half a shield and a spear, and to the right of that was a pillar with a serpent-like creature carved into it just like on the half shield.

 _ **Across the sea**_

 **Dominic Monaghan**

From top to bottom, Theoden appears with a serious look on his face on the right, Eowyn to the left with a serious look on her face as well, and finally Eomer on the right also with a serious look. As at the center of the paper was the side-view of an armored horses face between the three.

 _ **A pale moon rises**_

 **Bernard Hill**

 **Miranda Otto**

 **Karl Urban**

Again from top to bottom this time is Boromir with a saddened look on his face to the right, Denethor with a smile to the left, and back to the right at the bottom is Faramir also with a smile as between the three of them at the center of the paper was a drawing of the White Tree.

 _ **The ships have come**_

 **Sean Bean**

 **David Wenham**

 **John Noble**

Arwen appears at the upper left with a saddened look on her face with a hood on her head while Elrond appears below to the bottom right with a serious look on his face. A drawing of Rivendell at the center between the two. After a few seconds the drawings fade and are replaced by Galadriel with a blank look on her face and a drawing of her mirror to the right.

 _ **To carry you home**_

 _ **And all will turn**_

 **Liv Tyler**

 **Hugo Weaving**

 _(Credits Fade)_

 **Cate Blanchett**

On the left is a drawing of Gollum with a crazed look in his eyes as to the right is a drawing of him as a Stoor back when he was Smeagol, at the bottom between the two, the One Ring dangles on a chain.

 _ **To silver glass**_

 **Andy Serkis**

Saruman appears on the upper left with a serious look on his face as he holds his staff in his hands against his shoulder as on the bottom right is a drawing of Grima with his head turned with a curious look on his face as between the two of them is the top of Isengard.

 _ **A light on the water**_

 **Christopher Lee**

 **Brad Dourif**

Finally, a drawing of the Witch-King of Angmar appears on the left and on the right is a drawing of the King of the Dead.

 _ **All souls pass**_

 _ **Hope fades…**_

 **Lawrence Makoare**

 **Paul Norell**

No more drawings appear as then the following text below begins slowly scrolling up.

 _ **Into the world of night**_

 _ **Through shadows falling**_

 _ **Out of memory and time**_

 _ **Don't say…**_

 _ **We have come now to the end**_

 _ **White shores are calling**_

 _ **You and I will meet again**_

 _ **And you'll be here, in my arms**_

 _ **Just sleeping**_

 **Cast**

 **Fairy Tail**

 **Tetsuya Kakihara as Natsu**

 **Aya Hirano as Lucy**

 **Rie Kugimiya as Happy**

 **Yuichi Nakamura as Gray**

 **Sayaka Ohara as Erza**

 **Satomi Sato as Wendy**

 **Yui Horie as Carla**

 **Wataru Hatano as Gajeel**

 **Hiroki Tochi as Panther Lily**

 **Daisuke Kishio as Loke/Scorpio**

 **Miyuki Sawashiro as Virgo**

 **Eri Kitamura as Aquarius**

 **Eiji Sekiguchi as Taurus**

 **Yoshimitsu Shimoyama as Cancer**

 **Masaki Kawanabe as Sagittarius/Jet/Macao Conbolt**

 **Sayaka Narita as Aries**

 **Takaya Kuroda as Capricorn**

 **Yukiyo Fujii as Gemi**

 **Kanami Sato as Mini**

 **Shinpachi Tsuji as Makarov**

 **Ryoko Ono as Mirajane**

 **Mai Nakahara as Juvia**

 **Mariya Ise as Levy/Romeo**

 **Katsuyuki Konishi as Laxus**

 **Satomi Arai as Bisca/Asuka**

 **Harumi Sakurai as Lisanna**

 **Yuichi Iguchi as Max**

 **Daisuke Kageura as Warren**

 **Eiji Sekiguchi as Wakaba**

 **Hidekatsu Shibata as Igneel**

 **Lord of the Rings**

 **Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins**

 **Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn**

 **Ian McKellen as Gandalf**

 **Orlando Bloom as Legolas**

 **John Rhys-Davies as Gimli/Treebeard**

 **Sean Astin as Sam**

 **Billy Boyd as Pippin**

 **Dominic Monaghan as Merry**

 **Bernard Hill as Theoden**

 **Miranda Otto as Eowyn**

 **Karl Urban as Eomer**

 **Sean Bean as Boromir**

 **David Wenham as Faramir**

 **John Noble as Denethor**

 **Liv Tyler as Arwen**

 **Hugo Weaving as Elrond**

 **Cate Blanchett as Galadriel**

 **Marton Csokas as Celeborn**

 **Craig Parker as Haldir**

 **Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol**

 **Christopher Lee as Saruman**

 **Brad Dourif as Grima**

 **Lawrence Makoare as Lurtz/Witch King/Gothmog**

 **Paul Norell as King of the Dead**

 **Peter McKenzie as Elendil**

 **Harry Sinclair as Isildur**

 **Bruce Hopkins as Gamling**

 **John Leigh as Hama**

 **John Bach as Madril**

 **Alan Howard as Sauron**

 _ **What can you see**_

 _ **On the horizon?**_

 _ **Why do the white gulls call?**_

 _ **Across the sea**_

 _ **A pale moon rises**_

 _ **The ships have come to carry you home**_

 _ **And all will turn**_

 _ **To silver glass**_

 _ **A light on the water**_

 _ **Grey ships pass**_

 _ **Into the West**_

 **And thus ends a great journey. And a great story.**

 **Thank you to everyone who stood by this story to the very end. I hope you all had a wonderful adventure and enjoyed every moment of The Fairies of the Ring. A full year has passed since I started this story and I enjoyed working on it every chance I did. But all great journeys must come to an end eventually. Once again, I thank you for joining me on this great adventure with our favorite mages and fellowship, and I hope you continue joining me on these adventures in my other stories. But don't worry, my adventures into the lands of Middle-Earth are far from over. There are still many more stories to that can be told, many more heroes who could join alongside the members of the Fellowship on their quest to destroy the One Ring over, and over again. So, who knows what new stories await in the future. Guess you'll just have to wait, and keep your eyes peeled to find out.**

 **(End Lord of the Rings The Return of the King - Into the West)**

* * *

PHEW! And SCENE! That's a wrap folks I hope you all enjoyed the great conclusion to this awesome story! And it's just like I said, there are still a lot more stories that can be told in the lands of Middle-Earth, other heroes to take the spots of our favorite mages instead. So if you're a fan of this, make sure to check out my other stories and to also keep your eyes peeled for the next adventure into the lands of Middle-Earth. So, what will the next story to replace this one be? Well, I already got it planned out. Here's a little something to give you a clue, it's not a scene or anything from the actual story as I of course haven't started on it, and probably won't unfortunately for a while since I now need to spend some time on my other stories plus starting my longly awaited **The Passing By Kamen Rider**. So at the most you can probably expect this sometime in early 2018, but if things go well, maybe even sooner, and so...here's your clue!

* * *

A shadowy figure stands atop Weathertop, the light of the full moon outlining his figure as behind the figure, the Nine Nazgul stand with their swords at the ready. The figure turns his head slightly "Hope you're ready." the figure says before fully turning around. A white cape flying through the wind as he does so as glistening silver armor could be seen covering the man's body except his head.

"Because this is about to be my stage now!" the man says, placing something on his waist as a belt forms around his waist. The man then takes out what appears to be a lock of some kind, and opens it.

" _ **Orange!"**_

* * *

 **Q &A…**

To **Guest dv -** Don't worry, now that I've finished this story I will be putting my full attention back to Neo-Heisei Riders Tail! So be on the lookout for an update (hopefully) soon! Cause let me tell you this month's going to get crazy cause a lot of big school projects are coming in so I'm going to have to balance my time out between those so I don't have to do them at the last second, and fail, my story, and of course my YouTube and life in general.

To **R98 -** Right now at the rate things are going, most likely early 2018. I have the series planned out and everything so it's going to happen.

To **Stalvir -** Never heard of that, but I guess I can check it out when I can and see what I think.


End file.
